If your TikTok FYP has been filled with Saltburn content for the past few weeks, you’re not alone. Ever since the movie was released on Nov. 17 (and started streaming on Prime Video on Dec. 22), people can not stop talking about it, and there’s a reason: it’s phenomenal. The movie is filled with beautiful scenery, a star-studded (and, IMHO, super hot) cast, and, of course, lots of bizarre moments. After finishing the movie, I couldn’t stop talking about it. And if you’ve seen it, you’re probably in a similar situation.
While I have rewatched the movie since, I’ve been looking for movies similar to it. TBH, I couldn’t find too many that made me feel the same way Saltburn did, but I have an alternative: books. There are a lot of books waiting for you at your local bookstore that will help you immerse yourself in a similar world to Saltburn.
Of course, Saltburn has lots of twists and turns, shocking (and disturbing) moments, and, what I believe to be one of the best plot twist endings of a movie in a while. In an effort to find more media that encapsulates these themes, I’ve gathered five books to read if you loved Saltburn. There are truly options for everybody here, BTW.
Well, what are you waiting for? Listen to “Murder On The Dancefloor” in your car on the way to Barnes & Noble and get one, or a few, of these books.
The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
I read this novel in high school, and it has stuck with me ever since. The Picture of Dorian Gray follows the story of a young man named Dorian Gray, a wealthy young Englishman who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Gray prizes his looks and youth more than anything. The “picture” part comes in here: when Gray is a young man, he has his portrait painted, and as he ages, sins, and grows older, the portrait changes too, reflecting his sins and aging in the painting. Dorian Gray reminds me of Oliver Quick from Saltburn, constantly sinning and making horrible decisions, thinking there are little consequences. It is a true classic, and just a wonderful book to have on your bookshelf in general!
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr. Ripley is another classic, and is perfect for people who love Saltburn. The story follows Tom Ripley, a man barely getting by living in New York, who uses scams and cons to make money. He convinced Herbet Greenleaf, a wealthy man whose son, Dickie wants to party in Italy instead of working for the family business, that he and Dickie were friends (which is a lie). Herbet asks Tom to go to Italy and convince Dickie to come back to New York, but, Tom becomes instantly obsessed with Dickie and the lavish lifestyle he has. Sound familiar? It’s giving the 1955 version of Oliver and Felix, in some ways. Oh, and BTW, The Talented Mr. Ripley was also adapted into a movie and it is incredible.
Bunny by Mona Awad
Bunny is a more recent novel, published in 2019. This story follows Samantha Heather Mackey, an outsider and scholarship student attending a highly selective MFA program. She prefers her dark imagination instead of the company of others, and is, according to Awad, “utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort – a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other ‘Bunny’ and seem to move and speak as one.” Despite her discontent with these girls, Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies’ “Smut Salon,” and she becomes so intertwined with them. In the process of this, Samantha ditches her only friend, Ava, and eventually, Samantha’s friendship with Ava and the Bunnies will conflict. The character of Samantha shares similar characteristics and motives to Oliver Quick, and this book overall is a great read if you love Saltburn.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Secret History is arguably the book to read if you love Saltburn. The book follows a group of college students who, according to Tartt, “slowly lose their morality as they search to transcend the triviality of their own lives.” The book is thrilling, follows a big mystery, and is just so Saltburn-coded.
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
The Shards is a long book, but many say they wanted more. This autofiction/horror is a fictionalized memoir of Bret’s senior year of high school in 1981 in Los Angeles when a serial killer begins targeting teens in the area. During his senior at an exclusive prep school, a new student, Robert Mallory, arrives with a mysterious past. Robert is attractive and charming, but is holding onto a secret from Bret and his friends as he joins their close circle of friends. Bret becomes obsessed with Robert, which Ellis says, “is equaled only by his increasingly unsettling preoccupation with the Trawler, a serial killer on the loose who seems to be drawing ever closer to Bret and his friends, taunting them—and Bret in particular—with grotesque threats and horrific, sharply local acts of violence.” People on TikTok rave about this book, especially fellow Saltburn stans.
So, instead of rewatching Saltburn for the millionth time, try picking up one of these books instead. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for a Saltburn book.