Recently I read a very enjoyable novel with an academic setting. It's been a while since I've read a book like that, and it reminded me how much I like books that touch on academia in some way. I thought a list might come in handy for the next time I want to read a book with this sort of setting. Besides it's August, schools are back in session, and Fall is just around the corner. What better subject than academia in fiction? Some of these books I have already read, and others are waiting...
- The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell--I found this one last year in a used bookstore. I have a feeling this is going to be very good!
- A Separate Peace by John Knowles--I have a vague recollection of reading this in high school, but I can't recall any details. I think I have a copy of it still...I should dig it out and give it a reread.
- Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld--I've heard very good things about this, and so-so things about it. I looking forward to reading it and making up my own mind about it.
- Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris--I *loved* this when I read it earlier this year. It has a wonderful twist (a la Fingersmith style--but totally different). I think it is definitely on my list of top books I've read this year.
- Old School by Tobias Wolff--This is set in a New England prep school in the 1960s. It sounds quite literary. I love the B&W cover of the boys sitting in rows wearing their suits.
- I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe--I've wanted to read this since Litlove's recommendation!
- A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson--I had been looking for Ibbotson's books for a long time, which have been out of print. I see that at least a couple have been reprinted and marketed for a YA audience (maybe they always were YA, but I've always liked the sound of the story YA or not I had to buy them). This is set partially in Austria.
- Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh--I loved Scoop, and I have been wanting to read more Waugh. I love his style.
- The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman--My favorite book by this author, though I have enjoyed everything I've read by her.
- The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook--I really do need to reread this one. It is a mystery/suspense story--and quite well done!!
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt--I've had this in hardcover for ages (when exactly was it published....). I have a feeling I will like it, now when will I ever read it.
- Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers--I read this last summer, and was happily caught up in the world of Harriet Vane and Oxford.
- Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell--Another recommendation (though I am sorry I don't remember from who). I've always been curious about this--you're never told if the narrator is male or female. How can they pull that one off? Anyway, I read a review were Caudwell was likened to E.F. Benson and Nancy Mitford. Now I really do need to read it!
I have a feeling I've only skimmed the very surface of books like these. If you've read one recently (or not so recently) that you think is good, please feel free to share the title--as always I am happy to add to my wishlist!