These Violent Delights: A Novel
- Downloads：9384
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-26 08:51:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Micah Nemerever
- ISBN：0062963643
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A Literary Hub Best Book of the Year • A Newsweek Best Fall Book • A Philadelphia Inquirer Best Fall Book • An O Magazine。com LGBTQ Book That Is Changing the Literary Landscape • An Electric Lit Most Anticipated Debut of the Year • A
The Millions
Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Paperback Paris Best New LGBTQ+ Books To Read This Year Selection
The Secret History meets Lie with Me in Micah Nemerever's compulsively readable debut novel—a feverishly taut Hitchcockian story about two college students， each with his own troubled past， whose escalating obsession with one another leads to an act of unspeakable violence。
When Paul enters university in early 1970s Pittsburgh， it’s with the hope of moving past the recent death of his father。 Sensitive， insecure， and incomprehensible to his grieving family， Paul feels isolated and alone。 When he meets the worldly Julian in his freshman ethics class， Paul is immediately drawn to his classmate’s effortless charm。
Paul sees Julian as his sole intellectual equal—an ally against the conventional world he finds so suffocating。 Paul will stop at nothing to prove himself worthy of their friendship， because with Julian life is more invigorating than Paul could ever have imagined。 But as charismatic as he can choose to be， Julian is also volatile and capriciously cruel， and Paul becomes increasingly afraid that he can never live up to what Julian expects of him。
As their friendship spirals into all-consuming intimacy， they each learn the lengths to which the other will go in order to stay together， their obsession ultimately hurtling them toward an act of irrevocable violence。
Unfolding with a propulsive ferocity， These Violent Delights is an exquisitely plotted excavation of the depths of human desire and the darkness it can bring forth in us。
The Secret History meets Lie with Me in Micah Nemerever's compulsively readable debut novel—a feverishly taut Hitchcockian story about two college students， each with his own troubled past， whose escalating obsession with one another leads to an act of unspeakable violence。
When Paul enters university in early 1970s Pittsburgh， it’s with the hope of moving past the recent death of his father。 Sensitive， insecure， and incomprehensible to his grieving family， Paul feels isolated and alone。 When he meets the worldly Julian in his freshman ethics class， Paul is immediately drawn to his classmate’s effortless charm。
Paul sees Julian as his sole intellectual equal—an ally against the conventional world he finds so suffocating。 Paul will stop at nothing to prove himself worthy of their friendship， because with Julian life is more invigorating than Paul could ever have imagined。 But as charismatic as he can choose to be， Julian is also volatile and capriciously cruel， and Paul becomes increasingly afraid that he can never live up to what Julian expects of him。
As their friendship spirals into all-consuming intimacy， they each learn the lengths to which the other will go in order to stay together， their obsession ultimately hurtling them toward an act of irrevocable violence。
Unfolding with a propulsive ferocity， These Violent Delights is an exquisitely plotted excavation of the depths of human desire and the darkness it can bring forth in us。
Reviews
Rowan
，
This will require a second reading for me to properly process， but wow。 The writing。 This has put Micah Nemerever on my auto-buy list， because this was just staggering。 I'm not sure I even fully absorbed it all， but I loved the story， the characters， the darkness and intensity of it。 It will definitely take a few more times reading it for me to analyze this and take it all in， but this is perfect for fans of The Secret History and If We Were Villains， so it was exactly my kind of book。 The conce This will require a second reading for me to properly process， but wow。 The writing。 This has put Micah Nemerever on my auto-buy list， because this was just staggering。 I'm not sure I even fully absorbed it all， but I loved the story， the characters， the darkness and intensity of it。 It will definitely take a few more times reading it for me to analyze this and take it all in， but this is perfect for fans of The Secret History and If We Were Villains， so it was exactly my kind of book。 The concept behind the plot was entirely compelling， and like I said， the writing was fantastic。 I can't wait to see what else Micah Nemerever will put out after this。 。。。more
emmy
，
‘Of course they would promise each other everything。 Of course eternity would yield to them once they’d earned it。 They could only stitch each other back together if they did something irreversible。’
eri
，
where do i even fucking begin？？ this book slowly unraveled parts of me that i didn't know existed only to stitch me back up together in sloppy patches of angst， yearning， frustration， and anxiety。 by the end of this book， i felt an inexplicable hollowness because wtf？？？ bravo to micah nemerever for pulling off such a stunning and compelling debut novel that explored the concepts of morality， sexuality， desperation， grief， violence， and validation。 where do i even fucking begin？？ this book slowly unraveled parts of me that i didn't know existed only to stitch me back up together in sloppy patches of angst， yearning， frustration， and anxiety。 by the end of this book， i felt an inexplicable hollowness because wtf？？？ bravo to micah nemerever for pulling off such a stunning and compelling debut novel that explored the concepts of morality， sexuality， desperation， grief， violence， and validation。 。。。more
tay
，
mom come pick me up I'm scared mom come pick me up I'm scared 。。。more
Ash
，
3。75/5 starsI think this is everything I’ve ever wanted in a book。 Twisted， toxic， seriously fucked up。 Paul and Julian are the definition of a co-dependant， toxic relationship。 Their relationship is not romanticised at all， and that is what I loved so much about this book。 You’re not supposed to root for them or think they are good people。 It’s like watching a car crash about to happen， you know it’s gonna end badly but you can’t stop looking。 The only bad point I can think of is that I feel th 3。75/5 starsI think this is everything I’ve ever wanted in a book。 Twisted， toxic， seriously fucked up。 Paul and Julian are the definition of a co-dependant， toxic relationship。 Their relationship is not romanticised at all， and that is what I loved so much about this book。 You’re not supposed to root for them or think they are good people。 It’s like watching a car crash about to happen， you know it’s gonna end badly but you can’t stop looking。 The only bad point I can think of is that I feel the book was longer than it needed to be。 I felt sort of bored towards the later half， even though I was still intrigued by everything happening。 The author writes sentences in a way that draws scenes out， and I think I would’ve preferred it more condensed。 。。。more
charlize
，
this scared me a bit
Emma Kay Krebs
，
This shit is cuckoo bananas。
Mango
，
*4。5 stars*"I hope you looked west while I was looking east， and that for a moment you met my eyes without knowing it。 I know you never look away， even when your eyes are closed， but I'm never certain you can see what's really there。" *4。5 stars*"I hope you looked west while I was looking east， and that for a moment you met my eyes without knowing it。 I know you never look away， even when your eyes are closed， but I'm never certain you can see what's really there。" 。。。more
Riann Mohar
，
I couldn’t wait any longer for something to happen so I stopped reading about 3/4 of the way through。
tess
，
3，8/5
sofiabookz
，
I’m having a really hard time deciding on what to rate this book。 I can’t say my reading experience was pleasurable， but I don’t think that was ever the intention。 It is rather brilliant though， very brilliant。 I don’t feel intellectually up to the task to evaluate and review this book so I won’t。 I will just say this; this is one FUCKED UP book。 I love Julian， I had a hard time trusting him in the beginning but now I do， God I do。 I hate Paul， he is twisted and sick and needs medical help。 He h I’m having a really hard time deciding on what to rate this book。 I can’t say my reading experience was pleasurable， but I don’t think that was ever the intention。 It is rather brilliant though， very brilliant。 I don’t feel intellectually up to the task to evaluate and review this book so I won’t。 I will just say this; this is one FUCKED UP book。 I love Julian， I had a hard time trusting him in the beginning but now I do， God I do。 I hate Paul， he is twisted and sick and needs medical help。 He has borderline personality disorder， if not a straight up psychopath。 The almost ending shocked me senseless， “Pablo， please I don’t want to die” broke my heart。 Julian truly did deserve better。 Paul’s self hatred and incessive need to be worthy of Julian is the very thing that made him undeserving of Julian。 But of course Julian didn’t see that， he just wanted Paul to be able to love him as a person。 But no， Paul is sick， he is poison and he ruined what they could have been。 He liked the comfort in Julian being cruel to him and when Julian stopped he couldn’t accept love he thought he didn’t deserve。 My sweet Juli truly deserved better。 Paul was horrible to have a pov character。 It took me， I don’t know maybe two months to read this book， I stopped in the middle and refused to finish until a couple days ago when I picked it up again。 It’s just so toxic and dense and Paul is so hard to digest。 I can’t say I enjoyed every second of it， but what can I say it’s a brilliant book。 The quotes are incredibly beautiful， I highlighted a ton in my reading updates， there isn’t much of a plot but that’s what it’s going for anyway。 And I have to say， even though they were insanely toxic and terrible， I loved them， mostly for Julian but I did。 These violent delights have violent ends， truly they do。 The ending felt like it was heading to a very tragic direction but in the end the author opted not to do it。 I don’t know how I feel about them not doing it， given the tone and inclination of the book， but I guess it’s good to be hopeful。 Paul may get better， with proper medical care which I hope his family will provide。 But the very last lines of the book were probably my favorite part， let me just，，“All the times he’d watched Julian replicate the endgame on his portable board， trying to pinpoint the moment the outcome was inescapable （…） U。S。 Open 1970—Kazlauskas v。 Kaplan——Championship Final。 The opening move was circled in red。”This is brilliant， bringing back something like this that’s been mentioned so much， and it’s just— wow， pinpoint the moment the outcome was inescapable; the very first move。 They were doomed from the beginning， I’m sorry that’s just too fucking good， standing applause。 A couple other honorable mentions for this book: I loved how Paul and his family were Jewish， without it being the whole plot of the book。 Being Jewish myself， I can say that there is very VERY little representation in literature， especially as a common factor of a person’s life， and It was just so fun to see his family and all their interactions doing the things I do， it was a great nod， felt super genuine。 I didn’t really care for Julian’s family or Paul’s sisters but I adored Paul’s mom。 She was so interesting and the way she grew throughout the book， she was always so sweet and caring to Julian even accepting his relationship with Paul。 Truly amazing。 Okay that’s basically it， I said I wasn’t gonna go in detail but I think this suffices， wow， what a ride， this book honestly let me tell you。。 。。。more
Dorielys
，
STRAIGHT UP， I AM IN AGONY？？？？？？？？？？ A-GO-KNEE。
Madi
，
Fucking devastation。 There are absolutely no words about how this book makes me feel。 It was the most beautiful thing I've ever read。 This is it。 This is the *book。* Nothing else is ever going to top this。 Fucking devastation。 There are absolutely no words about how this book makes me feel。 It was the most beautiful thing I've ever read。 This is it。 This is the *book。* Nothing else is ever going to top this。 。。。more
Sof
，
This is the kind of book that， if it were a movie， would sweep at the Oscars。 If given enough time， it would be a classic that would be analyzed in high school and college classrooms around the country。It's just so full of so MUCH that I would love to reread it in an academic setting just to be able to fully pick it apart。 The chess match was an absolutely incredible metaphor and I'm glad i saw people talking about it vaguely before i read it so i could keep it in mind。 Paul and Julian are absol This is the kind of book that， if it were a movie， would sweep at the Oscars。 If given enough time， it would be a classic that would be analyzed in high school and college classrooms around the country。It's just so full of so MUCH that I would love to reread it in an academic setting just to be able to fully pick it apart。 The chess match was an absolutely incredible metaphor and I'm glad i saw people talking about it vaguely before i read it so i could keep it in mind。 Paul and Julian are absolutely deranged （affectionate） （concerned） and I didn't really like the ending but the last line was amazing 。。。more
Sean
，
These Violent Delights is an immersive and elegantly structured thriller about two teens who form a dark and dangerous connection。 Nemerever has written a taut novel that is begging to be adapted into an HBO mini-series。 The novel goes to painstaking lengths to capture the emotional and psychological details of Paul and Julian‘s relationship and it is equal parts intoxicating and haunting。 Together， the two embark on a terrifying quest that tests the bounds of ethics; this is young love， but it These Violent Delights is an immersive and elegantly structured thriller about two teens who form a dark and dangerous connection。 Nemerever has written a taut novel that is begging to be adapted into an HBO mini-series。 The novel goes to painstaking lengths to capture the emotional and psychological details of Paul and Julian‘s relationship and it is equal parts intoxicating and haunting。 Together， the two embark on a terrifying quest that tests the bounds of ethics; this is young love， but it is also a painful， toxic relationship and the novel dives head first into the agony and satisfaction that can be found there。 This is a smart and devastating queer thriller and I highly recommend it。 I listened to the audiobook and Michael Crouch gives an excellent performance。 。。。more
Crow Reichardt
，
Hitchcock and Wilde would be proud。
Emery
，
Very intriguing book。 It was quite heavy in writing style so as non-native English it took some time to read and I had to read it in small parts。Very unique and relationships between characters （and mostly Julian and Paul） were interesting and multi-leveled。 How Paul's relationships with his family and Julian were build well and I liked how all those and Paul's internal life unfolded to the reader。I'm looking forward to author's next book！ Very intriguing book。 It was quite heavy in writing style so as non-native English it took some time to read and I had to read it in small parts。Very unique and relationships between characters （and mostly Julian and Paul） were interesting and multi-leveled。 How Paul's relationships with his family and Julian were build well and I liked how all those and Paul's internal life unfolded to the reader。I'm looking forward to author's next book！ 。。。more
hininadb
，
I’m never getting over this book， literally ever。
Natalia
，
Beautiful book - a fairly intense read， full of angst， obsession， passion and some college entry-level popular science references， but I have to admit all of this clicks into place perfectly， providing for the novel's quite original flavour。 There is sadly no satisfying closure to all this drama， however the plotline ending quite neatly feeds on one of the recurrent tropes coming back throughout the book。 Very decent take on a tragic against-all-odds affair in gay context。 Beautiful book - a fairly intense read， full of angst， obsession， passion and some college entry-level popular science references， but I have to admit all of this clicks into place perfectly， providing for the novel's quite original flavour。 There is sadly no satisfying closure to all this drama， however the plotline ending quite neatly feeds on one of the recurrent tropes coming back throughout the book。 Very decent take on a tragic against-all-odds affair in gay context。 。。。more
Fikrat
，
I was very high anticipated for reading this novel but it seems it wasn't good for me at least in my view point。I didn’t love the way it was written and the seriousness gave me a headache。 Again， the lack of explanation felt pretentious。Paul was a psycho from the get go I couldn’t。 Two white 17 yo boys in college running free around Pittsburgh with unlimited money and at least one fully accepting family。I'm still want to give a chance and read from the author。 I was very high anticipated for reading this novel but it seems it wasn't good for me at least in my view point。I didn’t love the way it was written and the seriousness gave me a headache。 Again， the lack of explanation felt pretentious。Paul was a psycho from the get go I couldn’t。 Two white 17 yo boys in college running free around Pittsburgh with unlimited money and at least one fully accepting family。I'm still want to give a chance and read from the author。 。。。more
asia
，
file under: is it a masterpiece？ no。 Does it appeal to certain personal predilections regarding intimacy leading to violence？ uuhh uhhh uhhh 😬 🥰
Ric
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 these violent delights has to be one of the most jarring， beautiful books i’ve read in a while。 paul is written so brilliantly， i found myself hating julian alongside him at times。 it wasn’t until they reached the endgame that i honestly allowed myself to look past paul’s unreliable narration to see that julian was likely never in control of the relationship （or was he？）。 the evidence of that was stark throughout the novel， yet i still often found myself wondering how paul’s self-depreciation （a these violent delights has to be one of the most jarring， beautiful books i’ve read in a while。 paul is written so brilliantly， i found myself hating julian alongside him at times。 it wasn’t until they reached the endgame that i honestly allowed myself to look past paul’s unreliable narration to see that julian was likely never in control of the relationship （or was he？）。 the evidence of that was stark throughout the novel， yet i still often found myself wondering how paul’s self-depreciation （and flagellation） could possibly be unwarranted。 now， i do acknowledge that julian contributed to the toxicity of it all with his omissions of the truth/his past and his overall harshness， but it seemed like the boy was in way over his head with paul， if the forest scene toward the end of the novel gave the readers any indication。 there were other moments of that sickening and contradictory truth before the climax， but that is the one sticking out to me at the moment。 the ending of the book is still replaying in my head， so i guess i’ll never know which of the two was the real “mastermind” behind everything。 i think i like it that way。 as a young jewish queer person， i saw a lot of myself in both boys， particularly in their relationship with the culture/religion， and obviously in their desperation to find the other half of their personhood。 even in the throes of an extremely abusive relationship， they recognized that living in their truth would be less hellish than living a lie。 it was a commendable effort on their parts， and an extremely painful and anxiety-inducing read。i can’t wait to see what micah nemerever does next。 。。。more
Olga Melnikova
，
This book is brilliant， beautifully written and it absolutely crushed my heart。 It’s such a masterpiece of a tragedy， I’m not sure I’ll ever find strength to reread it。 But it will certainly stay with me as one of the most important books I’ve read in my life
K_a_b_p
，
I finished it yesterday & have still been thinking about it today。 If you prefer a deep plot you may not love this book， but it was dark and haunting and the writing was beautiful。
Nancy
，
UMMMM， I actually dont even know how to rate this？！This is a FEVER-dream of a book。 I feel like parts of it I dont remember at all and others are just stuck in my brain。 This was WILD。 I do think it was rather long and could have been cut down a bunch but man that ending was crazy。 I feel like it could have been a 4 star if there was about 100 pages less （the middle dragged）
sou
，
（4。5）
Elizabeth
，
A generous 3 stars。Do you know the Leopold and Loeb murder trial？ How about the Parker-Hulme one？ If you answered "yes" or either （or both） of these - congrats！ You do not need to read this book。 This book is literally just a mash-up of the L&L and P-H murder cases （although it skews much heavier towards L&L）。 There's a dozen other books/movies （even Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Simpsons episodes based on P-H！） based on these two murders and this book isn't offering up a better or more inter A generous 3 stars。Do you know the Leopold and Loeb murder trial？ How about the Parker-Hulme one？ If you answered "yes" or either （or both） of these - congrats！ You do not need to read this book。 This book is literally just a mash-up of the L&L and P-H murder cases （although it skews much heavier towards L&L）。 There's a dozen other books/movies （even Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Simpsons episodes based on P-H！） based on these two murders and this book isn't offering up a better or more interesting take than any of those。It's competently written and I'm sure any non-true crime buffs would probably enjoy it。 But this book isn't doing anything new and there's better offerings out there （such as the fantastic Peter Jackson film Heavenly Creatures or Hitchock's Rope）。 。。。more
Blue
，
That ending was EVERYTHING。 Not 5 stars cuz I felt the middle lagged a bit， but the book was still enjoyable。 And it's definitely worth it， how all of it comes together。 Oh， and the prose is *chef's kiss* That ending was EVERYTHING。 Not 5 stars cuz I felt the middle lagged a bit， but the book was still enjoyable。 And it's definitely worth it， how all of it comes together。 Oh， and the prose is *chef's kiss* 。。。more
Rachel Lang
，
Holy shit。 This one wrecked me completely。 The relationship between Julian and Paul is the most toxic thing i have ever read。 The complete obesseion between the two of them was on a completely other level。 Lots to unpack in this book。 Dark academia af
gio
，