what i wish people understood is that a setting or a character trope is not what automatically defines ANY genre. there is a feel, a prose style, a plot type, tendencies and certain lessons and all sorts of other things that defines a single genre. (and then of course we have the subgenres, but that gets very complicated.) that being said, i cannot lie. i hated Ninth House and i couldn't finish it. it bored me and felt so, so, so cliche.
THIS!! It also makes you think it’s a little bit, unintentionally ofc, exclusionary? Why can’t a piece that takes place in East Asia be dark academia? Just because it’s not set in western Europe/Vermont?
All excellent picks and recommendations. I love Dark Academia as both a genre and aesthetic (I love earth tone skirts and have a problem 😭).
The Starless Sea by Erin Mortgensten was the first DA book I read. I thought it was okay, the plot and setting piqued my interest, but I didn't find the main character very likeable. Things just _happend_ to him, and he wasn't very interesting.
Frankenstein is obv a banger though.
I gotta check out some of the others on this list!
I found this post at the perfect time. I just finished If We Were Villians after reading and falling in love with The Secret History in November, and I found it to be such a disappointment! A pale imitation. I came to a similar conclusion: I think I enjoy the precursors, the gothic, and the darkly academic a lot more. Thanks for the list 🕯️
Thanks for reading! A pale imitation is the perfect way to describe it honestly. VERY base in the way it presents its narrative -- too much "ooo this should be called The Castle because that's SOOOO Dark Academia" -- feels forced!
I love that you’ve actually considered Dark Academia, not as a vibe but as the source material which *informs* the vibe. Also, just a great list of recommendations in general!
Finally someone else who strongly dislikes Babel! All I ever see is people praising it and it felt like YA level writing without a single memorable or engaging character. I went into it optimistic but quickly had to force myself to finish it. Some of the linguistics and translation stuff is interesting, but I feel like the whole book should have just been an essay on that instead of shoehorning it into a terrible story.
You took the words out of my mouth!! That, alongside the overarching theme/history lesson that just turned out to be basic and falling INCREDIBLY flat, it is probably the worst book I’ve ever read haha
It's definitely within the realm of some of the worst I've ever read. The fact that the whole thing boils down to: "racism and colonialism is bad" is so basic and hopefully something that everyone reading the book already knows. And of course she beats you over the head with that message the entire time with zero subtlety or nuance.
I can’t get into Leigh Bardugo at all. It feels forced in my mind.
Am curious though — why did you choose Satie as DA? I’d argue rather for Dakus or Dzvorzak or heck, Liszt and Chopin in my opinion are far more DA (or late Beethoven, middle Stravinsky…)
I know what you mean! I read Shadow and Bone before I was really into reading and enjoyed it! But I was a teenager and… it’s YA… so it makes sense haha.
And cmon, the Gnossiennes are the most DA compositions I can think of! But you’re very right about Stravinsky —
You see, I’d personally qualify the gnossienes and elegies as light academia, but I can see the argument for experimentation with set composition as DA. I just personally think of more romanticism and neo-classical and a smattering of modernism as DA!
I’m sorry! I know it’s quite beloved but I had suuuuch an issue with the writing style (a lack of show don’t tell killed me haha). Among other things, I didn’t gel with it 😭
Brideshead Revisited is one of my favorite books of all time. I would have to recommend that novel to anyone who enjoys the themes of The Secret History.
I think it was the inspiration for Saltburn but lovers of the novel consider that to be an abomination. Though if you liked Saltburn, I suppose it's worth reading Brideshead, though it's pretty different.
Donna Tartt has actually said that Brideshead Revisited was one of her inspirations for TSH.You can really see it in that yearning of the protagonist to be on the inside of something mysterious, something so different from where they came from. I get that feeling from The Great Gatsby too. F. Scott Fitzgerald is another of Tartt's influences. The actual plot of Brideshead is nothing like TSH, but the academic setting and main character have a lot in common. The writing is gorgeous. It's not very long. It's a classic, but an underrated one.
what i wish people understood is that a setting or a character trope is not what automatically defines ANY genre. there is a feel, a prose style, a plot type, tendencies and certain lessons and all sorts of other things that defines a single genre. (and then of course we have the subgenres, but that gets very complicated.) that being said, i cannot lie. i hated Ninth House and i couldn't finish it. it bored me and felt so, so, so cliche.
THIS!! It also makes you think it’s a little bit, unintentionally ofc, exclusionary? Why can’t a piece that takes place in East Asia be dark academia? Just because it’s not set in western Europe/Vermont?
All excellent picks and recommendations. I love Dark Academia as both a genre and aesthetic (I love earth tone skirts and have a problem 😭).
The Starless Sea by Erin Mortgensten was the first DA book I read. I thought it was okay, the plot and setting piqued my interest, but I didn't find the main character very likeable. Things just _happend_ to him, and he wasn't very interesting.
Frankenstein is obv a banger though.
I gotta check out some of the others on this list!
I found this post at the perfect time. I just finished If We Were Villians after reading and falling in love with The Secret History in November, and I found it to be such a disappointment! A pale imitation. I came to a similar conclusion: I think I enjoy the precursors, the gothic, and the darkly academic a lot more. Thanks for the list 🕯️
Thanks for reading! A pale imitation is the perfect way to describe it honestly. VERY base in the way it presents its narrative -- too much "ooo this should be called The Castle because that's SOOOO Dark Academia" -- feels forced!
I love that you’ve actually considered Dark Academia, not as a vibe but as the source material which *informs* the vibe. Also, just a great list of recommendations in general!
Finally someone else who strongly dislikes Babel! All I ever see is people praising it and it felt like YA level writing without a single memorable or engaging character. I went into it optimistic but quickly had to force myself to finish it. Some of the linguistics and translation stuff is interesting, but I feel like the whole book should have just been an essay on that instead of shoehorning it into a terrible story.
You took the words out of my mouth!! That, alongside the overarching theme/history lesson that just turned out to be basic and falling INCREDIBLY flat, it is probably the worst book I’ve ever read haha
It's definitely within the realm of some of the worst I've ever read. The fact that the whole thing boils down to: "racism and colonialism is bad" is so basic and hopefully something that everyone reading the book already knows. And of course she beats you over the head with that message the entire time with zero subtlety or nuance.
finally a dark academia list i can get behind!!!! when people leave frankenstein and dorian gray off their lists that always surprises me
Same here! They were the original DA!
I can’t get into Leigh Bardugo at all. It feels forced in my mind.
Am curious though — why did you choose Satie as DA? I’d argue rather for Dakus or Dzvorzak or heck, Liszt and Chopin in my opinion are far more DA (or late Beethoven, middle Stravinsky…)
I know what you mean! I read Shadow and Bone before I was really into reading and enjoyed it! But I was a teenager and… it’s YA… so it makes sense haha.
And cmon, the Gnossiennes are the most DA compositions I can think of! But you’re very right about Stravinsky —
You see, I’d personally qualify the gnossienes and elegies as light academia, but I can see the argument for experimentation with set composition as DA. I just personally think of more romanticism and neo-classical and a smattering of modernism as DA!
Omg Babel is my fav I wonder why you don’t like it
Also I need to read the picture of Dorian gray 😩🤭
I’m sorry! I know it’s quite beloved but I had suuuuch an issue with the writing style (a lack of show don’t tell killed me haha). Among other things, I didn’t gel with it 😭
But oh please do!! It’s a fantastic text!
Fair enough but yes I must
Brideshead Revisited is one of my favorite books of all time. I would have to recommend that novel to anyone who enjoys the themes of The Secret History.
I think it was the inspiration for Saltburn but lovers of the novel consider that to be an abomination. Though if you liked Saltburn, I suppose it's worth reading Brideshead, though it's pretty different.
Donna Tartt has actually said that Brideshead Revisited was one of her inspirations for TSH.You can really see it in that yearning of the protagonist to be on the inside of something mysterious, something so different from where they came from. I get that feeling from The Great Gatsby too. F. Scott Fitzgerald is another of Tartt's influences. The actual plot of Brideshead is nothing like TSH, but the academic setting and main character have a lot in common. The writing is gorgeous. It's not very long. It's a classic, but an underrated one.
Thoughts on Alexander Pope's Verse rendering of Homer? It hit me harder than the prose.