From Tara Westover's book (Educated). I cannot understand the meaning of "Holy hell!" in the phrase below:
He asked where I was studying; when I answered, he said, “Harvard!
Holy hell!”
And I don't know what's the relationship between it and the next line:
it was true. He had always seen me like that, long
before there was any reason to.
A FEW DAY S LATER, I signed in to an old chat program I hadn’t used in years.
There was a cheerful jingle and a name turned from gray to green. Charles
is online, it said. I’m not sure who started the chat, or who suggested
moving the conversation to the phone. We talked for an hour, and it was as
if no time had passed.
He asked where I was studying; when I answered, he said, “Harvard!
Holy hell!”
“Who woulda thought?” I said.
“I did,” he said, and it was true. He had always seen me like that, long
before there was any reason to.
Best Answer
It's an expression that can indicate a few different feelings. I would say that it signals his surprise in this case. He's amazed that she's studying at Harvard.
"Who would have thought?" is also another expression of surprise. She's also suggesting that it's surprising that she's studying there. But this is a rhetorical question. No answer is expected. However, he answers it by saying "I did." In other words, he would have thought that she'd be studying there. I see "it was true" as a comment on his personality. She's saying that it's true that he is the kind of person who would have thought that about her. Why does she believe that? Because "He had always seen [her] like that, long before there was any reason to."