By Jimmy Baracia
Dark academia and murder… my two favorite things. My winter break had lots of both — in books, I mean.
I promise that I did not murder anyone nor did I go anywhere that can be classified as “dark academia.” I just went back to my suburban hometown, about as far away from dark academia as you can get.
So instead, I read about it!
Arguably the two most beloved dark academia novels are “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt and “If We Were Villains” by M.L. Rio.
I read the first half of “The Secret History” for a class freshman year, and while I thought it was good, I never actually intended to finish it. I found it to be quite pretentious (which is literally the point) and overly verbose for my liking. Especially if I am reading a book for my own enjoyment, I don’t want to have to sit there and decipher what is happening or think intensely if I’m trying to relax on a Sunday evening with a cup of tea, y’know? I reserve that feeling for my academic readings.
However, when I came back home that winter break, I saw “The Secret History” everywhere and I had no idea what was happening. Why had everyone become so invested in this story about a pretentious, vain boy from Plano, California?
Well, last year my friend told me that I really ought to finish it. And I tried, I really did, but I couldn’t find the energy to finish, so I read “The Hunger Games” for the first time instead. Then last semester, I thought maybe I ought to give it another shot. It was fall and rainy and Pittsburgh: a dark academic’s dream!
I finally finished it! It only took you two years, Jimmy.
Then I was on a kick and I decided to knock off “If We Were Villains” too.
Fun fact: I actually bought three copies of “If We Were Villains” because I was so excited to read it. Two of them were actually on the same receipt, so I don’t know how I managed to do that. Regardless, it still took me over a year to get around to it.
First and foremost, both of the novels were incredible. I cannot recommend enough giving them both a read.
The writing in “The Secret History” was beautiful, ornate, and pretentious, which fit very well with the plot of the book itself. The characters were all equally likable and unlikable in their own regards, which made it fascinating to read. You have this interesting cast of characters that you can’t really decide if you like or dislike — except, of course, for Bunny, who is just horrible. He has zero redeeming qualities.
Some parts of the book were slow and could have been shortened, but overall, it was pretty compelling. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending and thought that it came out of left field.
The immediate issues I had with “If We Were Villains” were quite the opposite. I found the book to be predictable. That’s not to say it was bad — it wasn’t. I loved it. I expected the ending though.
This book was rather fast-paced. It still has that “pretentious” and “dark academia” vibe to it, though without being so dense. Also, the more academic references are almost all to Shakespeare — something a lot of people have at least been exposed to in their lives, if not taught, which makes it easier to digest and understand as opposed to the countless references to ancient Greece in “The Secret History.”
Both Tartt and Rio are geniuses in their own regards and both works are marvelous.
Now the question you’ve all been waiting for: which one is better?
To be quite frank with you, I don’t think they’re comparable. They are two entirely different stories with the only similarities being that someone is murdered and they take place at a university, heavily playing into the dark academia aesthetic.
I keep seeing videos where everyone compares the two of them and I find that you really can’t. Both are great in their own respects. Truthfully, I couldn’t tell you which one I liked more. They both got five stars from me on Goodreads.
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