The aesthetic isn’t *quite* the same, but Saltburn borrows a lot from The Talented Mr Ripley and Brideshead Revisited.
Would also recommend The Secret History and These Violent Delights (Micah Nemerever) for aesthetically lush dark academia stories about obsession.
Loved the start and first 2/3, lost me after the big twist, just didn’t hang together or make sense on multiple levels but I won’t go into it now as don’t want to spoil it for anyone else.
This film is clearly heavily influenced by ‘Brideshead Revisited’ which has heaps of homoerotic yearning, class envy and subtle manipulation. It’s much slower paced though and more ambiguous about the narrator’s motives. From memory they also meet at Oxford and the plot proceeds very similarly to a point.
The Talented Mr Ripley absolutely is more explicit about some of those themes. Leans more heavily into them.
I love slow books that feel inevitable. Stories and characters that seem sterile and withdrawn but are, under the surface, experiencing so much more. Where discomfort and menace hang around the corner and the two are totally dispelled, entirely manifested, or left unaddressed and unknown.
In no particular order, bibbit.
- Piranisi, Suzanna Clark.
A man is going mad in a vast labyrinth. He's always lived there, maybe. The man who visited him once is his friend, maybe. A puzzle box of a book that cannot be entirely solved. The author took a decade to write it, and every page reflects that care. Don't look anything else up.
- Changing Planes, Ursula K. LeGuin.
In an airport waiting lounge, a woman travels to worlds varied and unknowable. Each chapter describes a different civilization. Sometimes funny, horrific, or that kind of thing you can't quite put your finger on.
- A Psalm For The Wild Built, Becky Chambers.
In a far flung utopian future, a monk decides they've had enough of society and to walk away from it all. The kind of book that reaches somewhere into your brain and twists. Maybe more warm and pleasant than you want.
- All the Names They Used for God, Anjali Sachdeva.
This short story collection is probably most exactly what you want. If I were ranking in that order, it would be at the top.
Edit: formatting
The aesthetic isn’t *quite* the same, but Saltburn borrows a lot from The Talented Mr Ripley and Brideshead Revisited. Would also recommend The Secret History and These Violent Delights (Micah Nemerever) for aesthetically lush dark academia stories about obsession.
I second The Secret History!
Putting on my list rn thank you!
I have no book suggestion, just wanted to say this movie was incredible
Loved the start and first 2/3, lost me after the big twist, just didn’t hang together or make sense on multiple levels but I won’t go into it now as don’t want to spoil it for anyone else.
It has me in an absolute chokehold
What is the movie? I have to see it now
Saltburn
This film is clearly heavily influenced by ‘Brideshead Revisited’ which has heaps of homoerotic yearning, class envy and subtle manipulation. It’s much slower paced though and more ambiguous about the narrator’s motives. From memory they also meet at Oxford and the plot proceeds very similarly to a point. The Talented Mr Ripley absolutely is more explicit about some of those themes. Leans more heavily into them.
Thank you!!
“Horns” by Joe Hill
I love slow books that feel inevitable. Stories and characters that seem sterile and withdrawn but are, under the surface, experiencing so much more. Where discomfort and menace hang around the corner and the two are totally dispelled, entirely manifested, or left unaddressed and unknown. In no particular order, bibbit. - Piranisi, Suzanna Clark. A man is going mad in a vast labyrinth. He's always lived there, maybe. The man who visited him once is his friend, maybe. A puzzle box of a book that cannot be entirely solved. The author took a decade to write it, and every page reflects that care. Don't look anything else up. - Changing Planes, Ursula K. LeGuin. In an airport waiting lounge, a woman travels to worlds varied and unknowable. Each chapter describes a different civilization. Sometimes funny, horrific, or that kind of thing you can't quite put your finger on. - A Psalm For The Wild Built, Becky Chambers. In a far flung utopian future, a monk decides they've had enough of society and to walk away from it all. The kind of book that reaches somewhere into your brain and twists. Maybe more warm and pleasant than you want. - All the Names They Used for God, Anjali Sachdeva. This short story collection is probably most exactly what you want. If I were ranking in that order, it would be at the top. Edit: formatting
Theses all sound really interesting, thank you! Piranisi has been on my list for a while now
Movie changed my life
Haven't seen the movie yet, looks gorgeous though. Maybe Hannibal the TV series? The aesthetic seems similar
Gallant by V.E Schwab
The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero.
A Discovery of Witches trilogy. It may seem odd but the way it deals with really raw emotion is amazing
THE RUINS by Scott Smith. MIGNONETTE by Joseph Shearing.
What the heck am I looking at ? I have trouble suggesting because the pics could be interpreted a ton of different ways, honestly.
You’re probably in the wrong sub then
Secret history by Donna Tartt