After completing the Tournament of Books shortlist, I was excited to get back to books of my own choosing! I picked up The Latinist by Mark Prins from my local bookstore @downboundbooks after reading about it in Molly Young’s Read Like the Wind newsletter. This book had a couple of very strong selling points for me - an Oxford setting, and a favorable recommendation from @mollybethyoung that mentioned “antique trolling” with a comparison to The Secret History. 

 

This book follows Tessa, an American classics scholar at Oxford, and her professional mentor, Chris. Tessa discovers that Chris has possibly sabotaged her future academic job prospects by writing a bad letter of recommendation for her applications. The book alternates between their perspectives - Chris has decided he is in love with Tessa and will stop at almost nothing to keep her near. Meanwhile, Tessa makes a discovery about an obscure poet that might help save her career. 

 

This book is gripping. The tension had me - Chris and Tessa are both obsessive and controlling, pernicious and self-absorbed. Neither are particularly likable, though I did personally side with Tessa in this twisted reimagining of Daphne and Apollo. I did sometimes feel a bit lost in the details of mythology and Latin, but not enough to distract me from the main plot. I was completely absorbed by this book. I don’t think it will be for everyone, but I loved it.