Back-to-school reading: 5 campus novels to get you in the mood for uni life

The Secret History, Donna Tartt

Widely renowned as the pinnacle of the dark academia genre, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History has earned it’s crown for good reason. A decidedly dramatic depiction of university life, it is filled with secrecy, sex, and, of course, murder. Hopefully, your Leeds uni experience will resemble little of what you will encounter in Tartt’s twisted vision. Nevertheless, The Secret History is a campus novel that deserves to be on this list. Gripping from start to finish, this is a book that will have you wishing for traffic on the uni commute for the chance to read a few more pages.

Normal People, Sally Rooney

You’ll have done well to have missed the hype surrounding Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel and the subsequent miniseries that graced our screens a couple of years later. But, whether it’s your first time or a revisit, now is the perfect moment to delve into the relationship of Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron. Following the pair as they navigate the shift from school to university life, Normal People is a heart-warming and heart-breaking examination of being torn between two places and two identities, home and away.

Stoner, John Williams
This one’s for those who enjoy a quiet novel because, to tell the truth, not a lot happens in John Williams’ Stoner. It observes protagonist William Stoner as he graduates from nineteen-year-old student to tenured teacher at the University of Missouri, and neither milestone or tragedy is awarded frills or fanfare. Reading this novel feels like a meditation; the slow-and-steady-ness of plot is a calming sensation. So, if you’re finding the hecticness of freshers (understandably!) overwhelming, I prescribe finding a quiet corner and reading Stoner as the perfect escape.