I wanted to start this as a series ages ago and have had the ideas drafted for months but I never got round to it or was feeling it. Now however, I’ve had a resurgence of passion for it. I often associate books or songs with Hogwarts houses – it’s a fairly common thing to do. There’s sometimes just a vibe in a book’s style or theme, a character with specific house traits or just the feeling you get when reading it that makes me sometimes instantly associate a book with a house.
I think it’s best to first start with what I associate with being a Slytherin type book. It’s not always easy to put feelings about things into words but I shall try my best! I find that when something is quite mysterious or curious but you can’t put your finger on why, that feels like a Slytherin book. If the characters, or just a main character, is quite ambitious and shrewd then I think of it too. It’s not necessarily the stereotype of being evil or sly, but more nuanced feelings than that!
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
For this one, it’s definitely the feeling of the story more than anything. It’s also the favourite book of my best friend who is a slytherin, so that may be a part of it! I think it’s partly the obsessive love, the all-consuming passion for someone or something. If you think of a lot of Sltherin characters, they have all consuming passions for things or people (be they good or bad). Snaps, Voldemort, Regulus, Draco. They become so deeply involved in specific things. Heathcliff and Kathy embody this in my opinions, as well as the classic ambition and cunning.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
I feel bad recommending this when I wasn’t a huge fan of it but it’s for the bits I did enjoy that I consider it a Slytherin-esque book. The mystery of what’s happening, the intelligent, ambitious set up of such a huge event with mass intrigue from people all over…this all adds up to a really cool atmosphere! I always find the Slytherins and their common room very mysterious and there’s definitely more to the house than what meets the eye.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This is a wonderful book full of mystery and intrigue and intelligent, wondrous magic. It’s written from the POV of multiple characters in the story, all with very different personalities. The storylines are so intricately laced and woven together along with that of the main characters, Celia and Marco. The ambition of both the writing and the protagonists has a really clear feeling of Slytherin for me.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
I haven’t read this book for a long time but I truly love it and whatever you think of the Twilight series, I still recommend this. It’s got great sci-fi elements and an interesting storyline. The cunning and self-preservation of the main characters is important to their personalities and the state of the world they are living it. They have to be fiercely loyal to their own tight knit community but also to their own intuition, weighing up the best way to act. The resourcefulness of the community also adds to this! I don’t know if I’d say specific characters are Slytherin, but the book as a whole I feel is.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
We Were Liars has a very regal, rich air which in books I associate with Slytherin probably because of purebloods and the fact that they are often from very rich families (excluding the wonderful Weasleys). Any family that has a Malfoy feel – rich, entitled, superior – instantly comes across as this house. There’s also the sense of mystery and tragedy which adds to it for me.
What do you think? Do you agree/disagree or have any Slytherin book recs?
The Little Contemporary Corner 