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My aunt insisted we read 'The Secret History' for its 'light fun', which was a wild misread
She said it was a charming campus novel, so our whole club went in expecting a cozy mystery, not a 500-page descent into Greek tragedy and murder. Has a book club pick ever been that hilariously mis-sold to you?
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troyp371mo ago
Oh man, that's a classic mix-up. My own low point was when I pitched "Watership Down" as a neat little story about rabbits. I figured it was like a woodland adventure, you know? I did not warn anyone about the graphic violence and rabbit mythology. Our meeting was just a group of us staring at each other in total shock. Who sells a book about bunny genocide as a chill nature tale?
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derek_dixon781mo ago
It's not actually a genocide, which requires intent to wipe out a specific group. The rabbits in Watership Down are just fighting for survival against other animals and each other. The real shock is how a book with such cute cover art goes to such dark places with animal politics and violence. Calling it a genocide might be overselling the rabbit-on-rabbit conflict. It's more about territory and building a new warren, not systematic destruction. Still a brutal read for anyone expecting a simple animal story.
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oliver5231mo ago
Yeah I used to think it was just a rabbit adventure too.
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