Some novels transport readers far away from their everyday lives. Others, like those in the campus novel subgenre, offer readers a chance to look more closely at the world around them. The Daily Texan compiled a list of six praiseworthy university campus novels from the last decade.
“Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid (2024)
Released in January of this year, New York Times Bestseller “Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid tells the story of a senior residential assistant at the University of Arkansas. Character-driven and bold, the novel offers glimpses into the lives of young women on campus. Reid’s unique observational abilities deliver a thoughtful commentary on power and wealth in a college setting, thanks to a cast of unreliable narrators entangled in a web of complicated relationships.
“Real Life” by Brandon Taylor (2020)
Set at a university in the Midwest, “Real Life” follows a Black, queer biochemistry student named Wallace as he grapples with an unexpected encounter with a classmate. The novel, which takes place over one weekend, raises questions surrounding childhood trauma, homophobia and self-preservation. Described by The New Yorker as a “new kind of campus novel,” “Real Life” proves a masterful debut offering readers a chance to reflect and turn inward.
“Normal People” by Sally Rooney (2018)
Debuting at number three on the New York Times Bestseller’s List, Rooney’s poignant love story follows Marianne and Connell’s relationship over several critical years. The characters’ relationship with one another ebbs and flows, creating a tender portrait of love and loss. Set against the backdrop of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, Rooney writes with equal ferocity and tenderness to create a millennial romance novel worthy of the hype.
“Bunny” by Mona Awad (2019)
From the very first page, “Bunny” grabs readers by the throat and gives them no choice but to keep reading. Sick yet satiating, equally whimsical and unsettling, the world of “Bunny” proves unlike any other. Set at Warren University — a fictional, New England Ivy League — “Bunny” follows Samantha Heather Mackey’s descent into the bizarre world of “The Bunnies,” a clique of privileged girls in the university’s first all-female creative writing cohort. Margaret Atwood, author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” called the novel “funny, kind of horrifying and quite far outside the lines.” The novel, which reminds most of cult classics like “Heathers” and “Jennifer’s Body,” juggles fantastical satire with body horror in a terrifying whirlwind that keeps readers on their toes.
“The Idiot” by Elif Batuman (2017)
The 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist in fiction, “The Idiot” follows Selin Karadağ’s freshman year at Harvard University in 1995. Drawing semi-biographically from Batuman’s own college experience as a Turkish American, the book’s strength comes from its narrator’s quirky perspective and unique outlook. As Selin navigates university life and her first romance with a classmate named Ivan, “The Idiot” unfolds into an intricate reflection on self-discovery and finding meaning in the mundane.
