The Secret History by Donna Tartt and If We Were Villians by M. L. Rio
– NO SPOILERS – none in comments as well, please.
I always have people recommending If We Were Villians since I’ve read The Secret History, I’ve been meaning to read it but haven’t found the time. Anyway, I want to know why. Why do people seem to connect the two? What are the similarities and differences? Is it because they give off the same vibe? Like I just want to know why people always pair them up.
Now, I don’t want this to be taken to offense or be considered rude: but which is better? I most likely will read IWWV so I i guess ill be the judge of that at one point, but just for now, I want to hear your opinions.
Donna Tartt is a well-known author by most book lovers, she has amazing books with incredible plots. M. L. Rio appears to be a new writer that not many have ever heard of until her release of I We Were Villians. It’s strange to me that even despite their differences these two books are always being compared and contrasted, especially since The Secret History is a classic.
Is IWWV a ‘modernized’ version of TSH? I know they do not share the same plot, but I have noticed that the new generation prefers these more modern content-related novels and since they apparently give off similar vibes is that why they are often paired? I have no idea what the content of IWWV is like so I could be completely wrong. To someone who has read both: do you think they are written at the same level? maturity-wise, content-wise, language-wise? Help me out here.
To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m asking. But I hope you understand why I want *answers*?
I want this to be a place of discussion about the two books; whether that compares them, reveals opinions of them, reviews/rates them, or is even just a general statement of what the two are about.
Yes, I’m aware that this is quite a broad question to ask.
by Abbey_St08
1 Comment
As someone who read TSH before iwwv I can say that you will probably enjoy it if you found tsh to be up your alley 🙂
There are some similarities in terms of the group of students all morally grey, death in the group, critiques of academia, etc. (I want to be careful not to spoil so I’ll leave it at that).
The best way that I can explain how it’s different is by saying TSH is more on the plot heavy side whereas IWWV is more character heavy, the characters are crucial here, they are the actors (quite literally) of the play that is their life. how they behave is essential to understanding why they do what they do. (idk if that made much sense im so sorry)
As for which is better, you’re the only one that can determine that, I personally find both of them a favorite but for very different reasons. I loved the way Donna Tartt handled the critique of academia and the sequence of events that lead to the ending of the book but I also loved M.L. Rio for how intentional she was with building up her characters’ individual identities and how they are reflected in Shakespeare (again, so sorry if you understood none of what I wrote I love these books so I ramble without thinking when I mention them).