this is long. i am sorry.
i need a book like the secret history i don’t mean “dark academia.” when i say this, i mean::
- real, intimate knowledge of the characters who you root for (even when they’re wrong)
- moral tension !! as a reader you struggle with your loyalties
- a structure/scope that feels classic and intentional
- slow-pressing dread
- not required but LOVED the bacchanal, or a trip scene, something wild that shifts everything
tartt has talked about influences/precursors, she’s credited works like dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, the great gatsby, le grand meaulnes, the bacchae by euripides, plato, orwell, waugh etc.. so i’m looking for something in that vein. not the trendy shadows of it. i’ll read more of her work, but i need others!!
for genre, i don't actually care what genre if it makes me feel like the above. hpwever, horror is my favourite: religious, folk, cosmic, i <3 vampires and demons. i love literary fiction too, a thriller sometimes. i don't like romance much, appreciate it if it's weaved into a bigger storyline. fantasy i haven't been able to get into, but i heard the poppy war by r. f. kuang is supposed to be great?
some of my favourite books (and some recs for you, but look up trigger warnings etc first) because this might help narrow it down, are:
- the secret history by donna tartt
- boys in the valley by phillip fracassi
- our share of night by mariana enriquez
- child of god by cormac mccarthy
- geek love by katherine dunn
- misery by stephen king
- homegoing by yaa gyasi
- the troop by nick cutter
- flowers for algernon by daniel keyes
- interview with the vampire by anne rice
- never let me go by kazuo ishiguro
- the melting by lize spit
if you don't like the secret history, that’s fine but picking it apart in the comments won't change my mind about loving it. argue with the wall
if you’ve avoided it because of hype, i hope you’ll give it a chance anyway <3
give me recs! i have no triggers
by lovemerricat