arts + lit Non-fiction reviews

Arts and Lit writers discuss some of the latest and greatest non-fiction they’ve read

Everything I Know About Love Dolly Alderton

THOUGH admittedly my reading preferences lean more towards fiction, Dolly Alderton’s 2018 memoir was one of the most enjoyable non-fiction books I have read. Its satirical writing style is balanced by her careful handling of complex topics like relationships, friendships and mental health. Alderton even mentions anecdotes from her time as a student at Exeter, and she depicts early-adulthood struggles without shying away from her flaws. The book attracted such recognition that it has since been adapted into a BBC drama series, and I think that this success is owed to Alderton’s distinctive voice that speaks to young people without feeling condescending when she recounts these life lessons.

Lucy Facer

Women Don’t Owe You Pretty Florence Given

FLORENCE Given revolutionised feminism when she wrote Women Don’t Owe You Pretty . Through colourful images and graphics, Given empowers women by providing her advice to us on the tricky themes of dating, self-love and self-pleasure. The book has been instrumental in giving women the confidence to acknowledge themselves outside the male gaze and reclaim their sexuality as something more than for men to pry on. I thoroughly enjoyed the sections on dating and not feeling chosen as Florence persistently reminds us that feeling chosen comes from within rather than any external validation we may receive. The only qualm I have with the book is that it often feels like a manifesto against men entirely. As a woman, I can see the benefit of having access to books like this as, after finishing the book, I felt a sense of certainty and security in where I was in life romantically and emotionally. However, it often confuses the problem of patriarchy with it being men’s problem — this can sometimes come off as aggressive. Overall, though, it is a fantastic way to remind ourselves of how far women have come and what we can do to continue to push past the patriarchy and forge our own paths.

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor

A Byronic image

Amy Rushton, News Editor, explores the world of dark academia

of classic literature, art and learning, imbues scholarship and academia with imagery which combines extravagance and luxury with death and morbidity. However, the obsession with dark academia can have dangerous consequences, with its romanticisation of whiteness and wealth ultimately promoting an exclusionary image of academia to the detriment of those who don’t fit the dark academia ‘ideal’.

DARK academia first swept across social media during the Covid lockdown, littering TikTok and Instagram feeds with tweed jackets, gothic architecture and screenshots from Dead Poet’s Society

The aesthetic, borne of a romanticisation

Ella

THE UK’s entertainment industry, along with every other industry in the UK it seems, is going on strike. On Friday 20th January, Equity, the UK performing arts and entertainment trade union, launched their ‘Stand Up for 17%’ campaign. The call comes for West End bosses to raise the minimum weekly pay for performers and stage management by 17 per cent. A staggering 45 per cent of West End performers have a second job, with almost half of those with second jobs saying that this is needed to cover their basic living expenses. With these statistics, it is justifiable

Literature plays a key role in this emerging obsession; classical works from Homer to Shakespeare are touted as inspirations for the movement. Moreover, even more so than film, fashion and many other aspects of dark academia, literature provides an accessible medium through which to embrace the aesthetic. Modern works which combine dark themes with elite academic settings such as The Starless Sea and If We Were Villains , have become intensely popular, and in dark academic circles it borders on sacrilegious to criticise Donna Tartt’s The Secret History

Dark academia provides a means for young people to engage in, and build a community around, literature. It responds to a very real need to build a community centred around learning and literature in an increasingly digital age. This is particularly important due to the shift to more digital forms of communication in response to the Covid lockdown. Considering the intense alienation this caused, it makes sense that young people would choose to turn to a romanticised ideal of the past, free from modern technology. This is even more true