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Original poster

Loved "The Secret History"... what next?

29 replies

Elmersnewfriend · 11/08/2017 23:25

Just got back from holiday where I read "The Secret History"... I absolutely loved it, any suggestions what to read next? I think anything I choose will be a real disappointment!

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dirtyprettything · 07/09/2017 07:46

I also thought Little Life was dreadful misery porn and far far too long

reallyneedmoresleep · 05/09/2017 18:12

A little life was a dreadful disappointment. Similar to TSH in the sense of "These people seem to be privileged tossers yet I want to know what happens to them" but other than that I think they are very different books.

GlitterBallSacks · 04/09/2017 13:51

Another vote for "A Little Life"

It's the best book I've ever read in my whole life. I finished it about five months ago and I've really struggled to read anything else since because "A Little Life" was so good that nothing matches up to it.

It definitely reminded me of Secret History.

dirtyprettything · 04/09/2017 13:47

Good luck finding anything quite as engaging as TSH! It's over 20 years since I first read it and I'm still looking.

Agree with The Rules of Astraction by BEE - same world and some of the same characters.

Try The House of Stairs www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0140114467/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_aRuRzbX6VZBTZ?tag=mumsnetforum-21
Barbara Vine's world are similarly involving.

Broken11Girl · 03/09/2017 19:47

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marissa Pesl, similar theme, quirky.

woollychimp · 03/09/2017 19:42

The Little Friend and The Goldfinch are also really good.

Agree Prep by Curtis Sittenfield and also Sisterland by her is brilliant

Pallisers · 03/09/2017 00:27

Prep: Curtis Sittenfield

Gentlemen and Players and Different Class both by Joanne Harris

Bright Lights Big City by Bret Easton Ellis (I think he was at Bennington same time as Donna Taart - that is the inspiration for the college in Secret History).

Recently read If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. It wasn't brilliant but it did have that same feeling - college/tight group of friends/death

littlewoollypervert · 02/09/2017 23:46

The Likeness - Tana French feels very similar 're the friendship group to TSH. In fact I love all her books.

Failbydefault · 02/09/2017 23:43

The Magus by John Fowles. Gripping and sinister ( but long) or The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, both real page turners!

43percentburnt · 30/08/2017 20:17

The crimson petal and the white. Not the same style/subject etc but very captivating.

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 30/08/2017 05:20

These recommendations are great. I've just bought "A Little Life" for £1.19 on Kindle.

AaarghUsername · 20/08/2017 11:14

"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell et al is a good one, with added Dan Brown-ish mystery in it. I really enjoyed this book.

DandelionAndBedrock · 20/08/2017 10:20

I find that I can become as absorbed in the characters in Wally Lamb's books as I did in Secret History. Not really a similar style, but the same loss of time when reading.

Mupflup · 20/08/2017 10:17

A Little Life, definitely. The best book I have read in a decade without a doubt.

Ktown · 20/08/2017 10:13

'The party' by ??? Just been released is a low brow English version of the secret history and is really good fun.
It overdoes the cliches (Notting hill and the Cotswolds) so it feels dated already, but it is a great summer read.

sunshine75 · 20/08/2017 10:10

A Little Life - amazing.

Chunkamatic · 16/08/2017 22:04

I loved Secret History and The little friend.

I would second pp's recommendation for A Little Life, I'm nearly finished. It's fantastic.

ShimmeringIce · 15/08/2017 21:04

That should have said Addison

ShimmeringIce · 15/08/2017 20:57

Not terribly similar but I think Sarah Addidon Allen's books have the same "world you can get lost in" feel. Garden Spells might be my favourite

SerenaJoy · 15/08/2017 20:52

Have you read any Sarah Waters? The Night Watch and Fingersmith are both brilliant reads. Not sure how similar they are to Secret History, mind you (which I also loved btw).

Wildernesstips · 15/08/2017 20:46

How about A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, it had a Secret History feel to it.

Ollycat · 13/08/2017 17:46

I loved The Little Friend and Secret History but hated The Goldfinch.

Have just read I'm Traveling Alone - easy but compelling read.

LockedOutOfMN · 13/08/2017 12:49

The Secret History is great! Liked The Goldfinch but not as much. (Didn't really like The Little Friend at all).

Do you like Bret Easton Ellis' books? Tartt allegedly got the idea for TSH from a line in one of Ellis' novels, I think it was 'The Rules Of Attraction'. There is some similarity between the two novels, although a lot of difference too. Ditto 'American Psycho'. Ellis is a bit Marmite.

I'm reading the suggestions on this thread with interest!

MozzchopsThirty · 13/08/2017 12:49

I have the secret history for my holiday read
Is it good?

TheTurnOfTheScrew · 13/08/2017 12:46

Have a look at Shirley Jackson - I found We Have Always Lived in The Castle to have that same gothic, New England feel.

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