paperback, 368 pages
Published April 17, 2018 by Flatiron Books.
Entreated to tell his side of the story to a detective who put him in prison a decade earlier for a murder he may not have committed, Oliver Marks describes his past as a Shakespearean actor in college whose rivalry with a castmate escalated in dangerous ways.
You have to like Shakespeare for this one. It is steeped in his drama.
I think this book was a take on what's now called 'dark academia' that came from Tartt's Secret History. 'Villains' did do a good job of showing the cult-like bonding of repertory acting and you do fall in love with the characters. But it didn't touch the subtle sinking into the depths that Tartt's original does.
The tension and the character building in this book are exquisite. The author's capacity for obscuring the finale, while also tastefully and intentionally leaving breadcrumbs along the way, made this book an engaging and engrossing novel until the very last sentence of the epilogue.
I can't put to words how good this story is right now...if ever.
"...violence has to come from a place of violent feeling or the audience won't believe it."
For a genre I rarely read about plays I've never watched/read, this was incredibly engaging. Oliver is part of a group of fourth year drama students who were very good friends, up until they very much weren't. We're taken along with this group as they navigate their final year at Dellecher Classical Conservatory and get to know them as they work on studying for various roles. One of them turns up dead, however, and the group starts to fall apart in dramatic fashion.
I liked the dual viewpoints of this book especially. It's from the point of view of Oliver looking back on events with a detective who worked the case, so we get present day scenes with Oliver and Detective Colbourne and past events with Oliver and his friend group. Oliver was imprisoned …
"...violence has to come from a place of violent feeling or the audience won't believe it."
For a genre I rarely read about plays I've never watched/read, this was incredibly engaging. Oliver is part of a group of fourth year drama students who were very good friends, up until they very much weren't. We're taken along with this group as they navigate their final year at Dellecher Classical Conservatory and get to know them as they work on studying for various roles. One of them turns up dead, however, and the group starts to fall apart in dramatic fashion.
I liked the dual viewpoints of this book especially. It's from the point of view of Oliver looking back on events with a detective who worked the case, so we get present day scenes with Oliver and Detective Colbourne and past events with Oliver and his friend group. Oliver was imprisoned for the murder and was just released as the book opens, but did he do it?
The book is a bit of a slow burn, but I appreciated getting to know these students and having them matter to me before the murder occurs. The inclusion of lines from plays and dramas was fitting for the setting, and I thought were really well done and chosen. The ending was almost a miss for me, but the rest of the book was such a trip that anything else was just an incredibly minor point.
I've never been a drama student and don't derive pleasure from Shakespeare, but that didn't stop me from really enjoying this book. Highly recommend if you're looking for a well written character drama/thriller.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Initially I intended to give this book a solid 1 star for its hellish cliché format and the incessant quoting of Shakespeare by its characters. What changed my mind? Well, the clichés died out a bit and the plot developed more of a sturdy structure.
In many ways this feels analogous to Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" but not in the great way one would expect.
One of the things that really irked me about this book was the relationship established between James and Oliver, it was underdeveloped and weak. The beginning of the story does not really imply any strong connection between them and it gets inserted in around midway into the writing with no strong foundation. This would be excusable if their "connection" per se is explored and developed further on into the story, perhaps tested more than a vague acknowledgment of feelings on both …
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Initially I intended to give this book a solid 1 star for its hellish cliché format and the incessant quoting of Shakespeare by its characters. What changed my mind? Well, the clichés died out a bit and the plot developed more of a sturdy structure.
In many ways this feels analogous to Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" but not in the great way one would expect.
One of the things that really irked me about this book was the relationship established between James and Oliver, it was underdeveloped and weak. The beginning of the story does not really imply any strong connection between them and it gets inserted in around midway into the writing with no strong foundation. This would be excusable if their "connection" per se is explored and developed further on into the story, perhaps tested more than a vague acknowledgment of feelings on both sides right before James dies (classic "kill one of the queers off before they can have a relationship").
Frankly, the deaths in this book did not feel very tragic and none of the characters felt alive in any sense. The irony is these characters all claim they feel that they are no more than just the roles they play or how they look—don't get me started on the whole femme fatale thing going on with Meredith—all in all they came off as plastic and inauthentic.
The building up of the plot was the only thing that pushed my rating from a 2/5 to a 3/5. Even that, the only redeemable quality of this work, was not particularly mind-blowing.
3/5.
This was excellent - creepy and atmospheric af with crystal clear prose and perfect interjections of Shakespeare. Not like anything else I’ve read in a while. I think it’ll get me out of my book slump as of late.
4.5 stars
