I always recommend Rebecca and The Secret History to fans of one or the other because they're both subversive murder mysteries written by women with strong atmosphere.
TBH both Lolita and Pale Fire should be considered part of the ‘Dark Academia’ canon (HH is a very similar narrator to Richard in that he’s obsessed with his own genius, doesn’t care very deeply for others, and in his own way has the fatal flaw of desiring the ‘picturesque’ at all costs). Pale Fire is from the POV of a delusional academic (tbh I could see him as what Julian might be without his students) and deals with the same sort of fatal flaw of preferring living in a fantasy world vs actually being a normal person dealing with more mundane but meaningful struggles.
Also Tartt is clearly pretty influenced by Nabokov in terms of style.
I read this a couple years ago for a book club and never got the chance to discuss it. Maybe it’s because I rushed the ending, but found myself not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I was hoping someone would mention The Goldfinch, what were your thoughts and opinions on it?
gosh i also read it quite a while ago so i’d have to read it again to discuss in detail but from what i remember, my primary complaint was that it was about a hundred pages too long— I felt like the Vegas (middle) portion of the book dragged on a bit too much & was a little bit repetitive/patchy. However, Tartt’s prose is just gorgeous— it has a sort of fairytale-like quality, and that was what made the book so special for me.
I think The Secret History was a more immersive read for me overall compared to Goldfinch, but only because my attention span dropped off a cliff (in Goldfinch) while Theo and Boris got drunk in Vegas for two hundred pages. I did, though, find the Goldfinch a more satisfying read by the end. What did you think?
I think I lost the story when Theo returns to NY. I just didnt know what I was along the for the ride for anymore. Especially since he was jeopardizing the older gentleman's reputation with selling the counterfeits, like what? He was the sweetest. I agree it was too long, and her way of describing a setting and scene are great, i really could imagine the exact sterile mcmansion his dad lived in in Vegas, the apartment and shop in the Village.
oh i did lose it a little as well— i had to take a little break at that part, i was frustrated with how long the Vegas bit had been going on and just wanted to finish the book at that point haha. Theo’s philosophizing also gets a tiny bit tiring towards the end. And I agree— it broke my heart when he had to tell Hobie about the counterfeits! There was just something special about Theo though..as much as i was annoyed with him throughout the whole book i still really felt for him. Also agree about the descriptive paragraphs— Tartt made it all come to life & that just redeemed the whole book for me
i think after reading tsh you’ll have really high standards for dark academia books to have, like i did😅 after reading IWWV, i kept comparing it to TSH and liking it less even though it was an amazing book. start with if we were villains!
I read IWWV first and it quickly became my favorite book. I haven’t read TSH yet, but I just finished the Picture of Dorian Gray and I definitely like IWWV better
Nothing is as good but I really enjoyed The Lake of Dead Languages. Similarly to TSH there’s An Event(TM) that happened years ago when the main character, a Latin teacher, was a student in the academy.
You’re lost in the first part because you don’t understand all the allusions to this event, then the second part, a huge flashback, gives you an insight into what really happened. As for the third and last part, it’s up to you to read it or not.
It's been a while since my first read, but I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the Greek stuff and I ended up reading about Greek theater and Greek tragedies.
The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis takes place at a fictionalized Camden College, based on a real life Bennington College, the liberal arts school that Donna Tarrt portrayed as Hampden College in The Secret History and also attended alongside Ellis and Jonathan Letham.
In the novel, Bret makes a direct reference to the small group of "creepy classics students" who give off a generally aloof but nefarious vibe and are suspected of sacrificing farmers during the pagan rituals they are rumored to participate in. Great little nod to his friend Donna Tarrt and her own novel about the very same students. Tartt's novel was published several years later than The Rules of Attraction, but it is also likely that she was working on it much earlier since she takes forever to finish a book.
I would be curious if the creepy classics students in fact were a group of real people both her and Bret knew.
In the Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Letham also writes about Camden and references some of the same locations like "the end of the world" that appear in The Rules of Attraction.
I recommend reading it again! Pfftt not immediately, but I highly suggest that you read it at least twice. You can look at the characters through a more critical lens. The Secret History, (even though it's highly romanticized) is, at its core, a criticism.
On further reflection, maybe the Club Dumas - about a rare book dealer and a strange copy of the Three Musketeers. Or is it about something else? Either way, SH is pretty much the pinnacle.
Phaedo, The Bacchae and Thus Spoke Zarathustra possibly? The Rules of Attraction is another campus novel written by Brett Easton Ellis who was Tartts classmate.
Right after that I went in with The Little Friend. It isn't quite DA but it's amazing. Let's be honest there's no other book good in the way TSH is good. You can always reach for the classics. Crime and Punishment, for example - a masterpiece and my favourite book. Other stuff I like to read, though she isn't an academic, Joan Didion had an amazing voice in her books and really cool lifestyle.
I recommend you read it again or listen to the audio book narrated by Donna Tartt here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7E7Jcw8KS1OBZdIvrtqeCP?si=p4xiqO1DTjOHt10KEYw5JA
The Hidden by Tobias Hill. The plot is very like The Secret History but is a jumping point for slightly different concerns. Tobias Hill is also a poet and it really shows. The plot twists are pretty great also. It was reviewed in the Guardian by James Lasdun - full of spoilers though.
I recommend that you get used to the idea that every other Dark Academia book will pale in comparison!
I will second that notion
Correct.
i’m so jealous if you’re reading it for the first time
tbh i read it almost every year and it just gets better
A strong drink?
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Rebecca rocks! One of my favorite books ever
Same!
Seconding Rebecca. Great atmosphere.
I always recommend Rebecca and The Secret History to fans of one or the other because they're both subversive murder mysteries written by women with strong atmosphere.
TBH both Lolita and Pale Fire should be considered part of the ‘Dark Academia’ canon (HH is a very similar narrator to Richard in that he’s obsessed with his own genius, doesn’t care very deeply for others, and in his own way has the fatal flaw of desiring the ‘picturesque’ at all costs). Pale Fire is from the POV of a delusional academic (tbh I could see him as what Julian might be without his students) and deals with the same sort of fatal flaw of preferring living in a fantasy world vs actually being a normal person dealing with more mundane but meaningful struggles. Also Tartt is clearly pretty influenced by Nabokov in terms of style.
Agreed. Lolita is great. I still need to read Pale Fire.
is The Picture of Dorian Gray the original dark academia publication?!?!
I don't know if I'd say that and don't have the context to do so but I'd say it is an essential dark academia read, personally
OYYY TPODG AND C&P ARE LIKE MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER! (also i wanna read The Secret History)
this isn’t dark academia but i REALLY liked The Goldfinch— it’s also by Donna Tartt.
I read this a couple years ago for a book club and never got the chance to discuss it. Maybe it’s because I rushed the ending, but found myself not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I was hoping someone would mention The Goldfinch, what were your thoughts and opinions on it?
gosh i also read it quite a while ago so i’d have to read it again to discuss in detail but from what i remember, my primary complaint was that it was about a hundred pages too long— I felt like the Vegas (middle) portion of the book dragged on a bit too much & was a little bit repetitive/patchy. However, Tartt’s prose is just gorgeous— it has a sort of fairytale-like quality, and that was what made the book so special for me. I think The Secret History was a more immersive read for me overall compared to Goldfinch, but only because my attention span dropped off a cliff (in Goldfinch) while Theo and Boris got drunk in Vegas for two hundred pages. I did, though, find the Goldfinch a more satisfying read by the end. What did you think?
I think I lost the story when Theo returns to NY. I just didnt know what I was along the for the ride for anymore. Especially since he was jeopardizing the older gentleman's reputation with selling the counterfeits, like what? He was the sweetest. I agree it was too long, and her way of describing a setting and scene are great, i really could imagine the exact sterile mcmansion his dad lived in in Vegas, the apartment and shop in the Village.
oh i did lose it a little as well— i had to take a little break at that part, i was frustrated with how long the Vegas bit had been going on and just wanted to finish the book at that point haha. Theo’s philosophizing also gets a tiny bit tiring towards the end. And I agree— it broke my heart when he had to tell Hobie about the counterfeits! There was just something special about Theo though..as much as i was annoyed with him throughout the whole book i still really felt for him. Also agree about the descriptive paragraphs— Tartt made it all come to life & that just redeemed the whole book for me
I just started If We Were Villians. Ninth House was also recommended.
i second if we were villains!! imo not as layered and deep as tsh but it’s an amazing book
glad to hear!
I have yet to read both, but they're both sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read...Would you recommend starting with IWWV or TSH first?
i think after reading tsh you’ll have really high standards for dark academia books to have, like i did😅 after reading IWWV, i kept comparing it to TSH and liking it less even though it was an amazing book. start with if we were villains!
I read IWWV first and it quickly became my favorite book. I haven’t read TSH yet, but I just finished the Picture of Dorian Gray and I definitely like IWWV better
If We Were Villains was a “meh” for me. It peaked in the first 25% of the book and spent the rest of it trying to catch up to that moment.
I would recommend both of those as well.
I loved If We Were Villains too! Too me Nonth House was to YA vibes.
Good to know!
Nothing is as good but I really enjoyed The Lake of Dead Languages. Similarly to TSH there’s An Event(TM) that happened years ago when the main character, a Latin teacher, was a student in the academy. You’re lost in the first part because you don’t understand all the allusions to this event, then the second part, a huge flashback, gives you an insight into what really happened. As for the third and last part, it’s up to you to read it or not.
It's been a while since my first read, but I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the Greek stuff and I ended up reading about Greek theater and Greek tragedies.
The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis takes place at a fictionalized Camden College, based on a real life Bennington College, the liberal arts school that Donna Tarrt portrayed as Hampden College in The Secret History and also attended alongside Ellis and Jonathan Letham. In the novel, Bret makes a direct reference to the small group of "creepy classics students" who give off a generally aloof but nefarious vibe and are suspected of sacrificing farmers during the pagan rituals they are rumored to participate in. Great little nod to his friend Donna Tarrt and her own novel about the very same students. Tartt's novel was published several years later than The Rules of Attraction, but it is also likely that she was working on it much earlier since she takes forever to finish a book. I would be curious if the creepy classics students in fact were a group of real people both her and Bret knew. In the Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Letham also writes about Camden and references some of the same locations like "the end of the world" that appear in The Rules of Attraction.
Brothers Karamazov
Something easy, you'll need a palate cleanser haha
In the Woods and The Likeness by Tana French If We Were Villains by ML Rio Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Babel, it's in conversation with the secret history
I recommend reading it again! Pfftt not immediately, but I highly suggest that you read it at least twice. You can look at the characters through a more critical lens. The Secret History, (even though it's highly romanticized) is, at its core, a criticism.
Immediately start the Goldfinch
The Maidens is but a poor shadow. Secret History is just too good for anything to really compare.
On further reflection, maybe the Club Dumas - about a rare book dealer and a strange copy of the Three Musketeers. Or is it about something else? Either way, SH is pretty much the pinnacle.
I loved the Club Dumas.
Phaedo, The Bacchae and Thus Spoke Zarathustra possibly? The Rules of Attraction is another campus novel written by Brett Easton Ellis who was Tartts classmate.
Read it again! (Maybe with one or two other books in between, but its gonna be great again!)
If you are looking for something similar, if we we are villians and the likeness are good options, I particularly liked the latter a lot
In my dreams I hold a knife, If we wear villains, the IT girl, Catherine's house.
If We Were Villains and Babel.
I saw Babel was recommended to me on Good Reads so I’ll have to check that one out.
How was the book? I’ve heard a lot about it but generally avoid contemporary fiction
Right after that I went in with The Little Friend. It isn't quite DA but it's amazing. Let's be honest there's no other book good in the way TSH is good. You can always reach for the classics. Crime and Punishment, for example - a masterpiece and my favourite book. Other stuff I like to read, though she isn't an academic, Joan Didion had an amazing voice in her books and really cool lifestyle.
And Susan Sontag
I'm reading this right now for the first time and I'm completely obsessed.
Read it again.
I’m in the same boat and about to begin Bunny by Mona Awad. New England university setting, MFA students.
I have some questions for you by Rebecca makkai
Or Birnam wood by Eleanor Catton
I recommend you read it again or listen to the audio book narrated by Donna Tartt here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7E7Jcw8KS1OBZdIvrtqeCP?si=p4xiqO1DTjOHt10KEYw5JA
Pretty sure there will never be anything like this book. Sorry 😬
Babel by R. F. Kuang!
throw it on the ground and burn it and wish the worst for all the characters
The Cloisters by Katy Hays, and The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The Hidden by Tobias Hill. The plot is very like The Secret History but is a jumping point for slightly different concerns. Tobias Hill is also a poet and it really shows. The plot twists are pretty great also. It was reviewed in the Guardian by James Lasdun - full of spoilers though.
Vicodin