However, this book has a lot of Shakespeare quotes in it. I like Shakespeare, having studied both English Literature and Drama at school. Moving away from The Secret History now, I need to mention the Shakespeare in If We Were Villains. If We Were Villains had more of an impact on me as this information is not revealed straight away. The difference is, that in The Secret History, the reader knows from the start who the victim is and who the perpetrators are. Plot-wise, they both involve a death in the group and the conspiracy to lie and how this then affects the dynamics of a group of friends.

In both books, the characters are deeply involved in their subject and find it difficult to separate study and their lives outside it. It’s a delicious, mysterious literary thriller.īoth books involve a male protagonist within a mixed group, both are set in an exclusive, elite school, both groups of characters study a classic subject that involves them being part of a group that at times is isolated from the rest of their college (Latin with a quirky professor in The Secret History, and performing Shakespeare in If We We Villains). It didn’t lose its way or go on too long in parts like I found The Secret History did. I’m not saying it’s the better of the two, but I just had a more enjoyable reading experience with If We Were Villains.

But, do you know what? I preferred this book. It was certainly mentioned in every review that I read. It would be hard to write about If We Were Villains and not mention the comparisons to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History because there are so many of them. It ended up like a comparison of these two great books so here it is. I cannot remember if I ever shared my review of If We Were Villains (that no one asked for but you’re going to get)

Book if we were villains