Scorpio, Scorpio, Scorpio. You knew this was coming. With spooky season well and truly underway, you’ll be craving a book to feed your thinly veiled dark side. You’re determined, loyal and enigmatic, and make a particularly fierce friend. As a water sign symbolised by the scorpion, you can often be intense and magnetic, but also complex and unknowable. So, lean in. These recommendations are tailored to your passion for powerful connections, your penchant control and your love of all things mysterious and meaningful.
Girlbeast by Ceciile Lind, translated by Hazel Evans
Translated from Danish, this sensational novella reimagines the Lolita dynamic, with the girl as an animal-beast hybrid, and the body as both sensual and repulsive. It’s deeply unsettling, propulsive and troubling – yet it keeps you gripped. You’re left with the question: in a system designed to make girls on the cusp of womanhood powerless, can the narrator be blamed for weaponising her power over men? Wild, dark-sided Scorpios won’t be able to look away.
Scorpions: A Memoir by Tuppence Middleton
It’s classic Scorpio to be drawn to darkness, so you’ll be enthralled by Tuppence Middleton’s memoir. Aside from a title which evidently appeals to the scorpion sign, this is a deeply honest, confessional book that tracks Tuppence’s experiences with OCD and anxiety, which she characterises as the tumultuous ‘scorpions’ in her brain. She manages to portray a devastating, all-encompassing illness with clarity and, at times, dark humour, offering a candid look into the mind of a person with OCD and comfort to any fellow sufferers. This is a read that will make any Scorpio delve deep into their own psyche.
The Names by Don DeLillo
Everyone knows Scorpios have the kind of presence that could build a following without even trying. If, like any good Scorpio, you’re drawn to the darkness behind the human psyche and are obsessed with power dynamics, then Don DeLillo’s The Names is your next read. James Axton’s life in Athens takes a sinister turn when a series of ritualistic murders begin to unfold in a remote province of Greece. As he becomes entangled in the investigation into a mysterious language cult, he is drawn into a murky and menacing world. Cult murders, mystery, and a neurotic narrator? Scorpios, this story is practically made for you.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
For loyal Scorpios that form intense, lasting bonds, My Friends is a must. This heartwarming, funny novel tells the story of a close-knit group of teenagers as they navigate the clumsy territory of coming-of-age, forming the kind of friendships that last a lifetime. Years later, Louisa, an aspiring artist, notices three tiny figures in the corner of a famous painting. Intent on discovering more, she embarks on a journey to uncover the story behind the artwork. Her determination mirrors the Scorpio spirit – once you get something in your head, you’re not letting it go. My Friends is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to love, childhood, art and lifelong friendship.
Good Girl by Aria Aber
Opening in claustrophobic Berlin, Good Girl is the perfect messy, dark and twisty Scorpio novel. Nineteen-year-old Nila is the daughter of Afghan parents who fled the country before she was born, only to find Germany is also fractured and uncertain. She is caught between her family’s expectations and her own artistic ambitions, attempting to find meaning in her life through the grimy rooms of Berghain and a city reckoning with its past. She stumbles into Marlowe’s orbit, a failed writer over ten years her senior who is increasingly coercive. Asking what it means to be a ‘good girl’, this novel is ideal for the enigmatic Scorpio who thrives on emotional intensity, darkness, and the mechanics of power hidden beneath the surface.
The Book of Goose by Yiyun Lee
My Brilliant Friend meets the French countryside, The Book of Goose is the winding, engrossing tale of Agnès and Fabienne, two best friends since childhood. It captures the kind of all-consuming friendship that borders on obsession – and loyal, stubborn Scorpios won’t be able to put down this complex portrayal of girlhood. When Fabienne has the idea for the friends to enter into a literary double-act, with Fabienne penning the prose and Agnès taking the credit, Agnès is launched into literary stardom. Scorpios make fierce friends, so you’ll feel Agnès’ dogged loyalty like it’s your own, as the lines between the self, love, and manipulation become blurred.
Universality by Natasha Brown
Nobody does contemporary observation quite like Natasha Brown. After leaving a high-powered job in London finance to write fiction, she brings an insider’s eye to the shady underbelly of British corporations and politics; a darkness that will undoubtedly fascinate a Scorpio. In Universality, she interrogates what happens when activism groups, dodgy journalists and corrupt landlords collide, as well as, yes, someone being whacked in the head with a gold bar. It’s unrelentingly British, ultra-current, playfully political, and the sharp characters and snappy dialogue will keep you hooked from page one. Plus, we all know a Lenny, and we’re willing to bet that she’s a Scorpio – driven, cutthroat and hungry for power. We challenge any Scorpio not to love-to-hate her.
