Social Creature

The Talented Mr Ripley meets The Secret History in this smart, compulsive and commercial debut, which is perfect for thriller fans and for millennials looking for the next big thingDark, dramatic and sophisticated, film rights to Social Creature have already been pre-empted by LionsgateA glamorous, covetable and contemporary hardback package which will really stand out on the bookshelvesTara Isabella Burton is a brilliant new voice in contemporary fiction and a highly promotable author, with extensive feature writing experience, who will be available for events and festivalsTara Isabella Burton is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. The winner of the Shiva Naipaul Award for Travel Writing, she has completed a Doctorate in Literature and Theology at the University of Oxford and is a prodigious travel writer, short story and scriptwriter and essayist. She currently works for Vox as their Faith and Religion Correspondent and lives in New York. taraisabellaburton.com @NotoriousTIB'A Ripleyesque exploration of female insecurity set among the socialites of Manhattan' Guardian, Books of the Year 'So many novels are compared to The Secret History and The Talented Mr. Ripley in the digital age, but in this case it's absolutely justified' Elle Louise is struggling to survive in New York; juggling a series of poorly paid jobs, renting a shabby flat, being catcalled by her creepy neighbour, she dreams of being a writer. And then one day she meets Lavinia. Lavinia who has everything - looks, money, clothes, friends, an amazing apartment. Lavinia invites Louise into her charmed circle, takes her to the best underground speakeasies, the opera, shares her clothes, her drugs, her Uber account. Louise knows that this can't last for ever, but just how far is she prepared to go to have this life? Or rather, to have Lavinia's life?A friendship to die for. A Ripley story for the Instagram age set in contemporary New York; a world at once sophisticated and sordid, irresistible and irresponsible, unforgettable yet unattainable[A] spectacularly impressive debut . A ridiculously assured first novel, told in an utterly original voiceIf you crossed Gossip Girl with The Talented Mr Ripley and added Whit Stillman's dialogue to the mix, you might come close to the feel of Burton's glittering story of identity theft. Sure to be on every smart beach lounger this summerA formidable burlesque ... Sharp as a shard of broken mirrorBurton does a brilliant job of depicting the toxic charm of such a world... [she] draws us in via her control of the material, the expert way she plays off Lavinia's lavishness against Louise's guile - and our fascination with those wild Manhattan partiesAn irresistible novel about a toxic friendship taken to the extreme, full of dark New York glamour, decadence and bohemia ... So many novels are compared to The Secret History and The Talented Mr. Ripley in the digital age, but in this case it's absolutely justified[Tara Isabella Burton] knows her way around good, evil and the eternally reader-friendly realm in between. Social Creature is a wicked original with echoes of the greats (Patricia Highsmith, Gillian Flynn)Imagine Gossip Girl grown up and gone very, very wrong, with a touch of The Secret History thrown in . A deliciously dark novel about excess and desperationMeet your new one-sitting read: a stunning New York-set novel about a woman with nothing who befriends a woman with everything, and decides that she'd like her life. Think The Talented Mr Ripley meets The Secret History meets Gossip GirlIt is hard to believe that Social Creature is Tara Isabella Burton's first book, such is its poise and individuality - not to mention verve and bravado ... Her novel is a Trojan horse - sharp observations and serious insights ensconced in the body of a glamorous, compelling page-turner If you enjoyed The Talented Mr Ripley, you'll love this . [A] gripping takedown of contemporary New York societyThis deliciously seductive novel is a wild, sinister ride through contemporary New York. A layered and incisive portrayal of our obsession with social media and toxic friendshipsGlittering, breathless, and precise - Social Creature fearlessly explores identity in the modern world through a dangerous and magnetic friendship. Tara Isabella Burton's prose is electrifying, her characters dazzlingly bright. This novel will consume youLethally well controlled . AddictiveI read Social Creature in one breathless rush. It's a wild nightmarish ride through a New York City of decadence & broken dreams, faking it & fucking up, love & lies & lies & more lies. This is the missing link between Bret Easton Ellis & The Secret HistoryLavish and wild and bohemian, Social Creature swept me up in its spell, spun me round the streets of New York and left me wanting more. This book is ALL THAT JAZZ and then someSocial Creature is the perfect upmarket beach read for the summerA rollercoaster of a ride of the kind best read in one almighty gulp, turning the pages faster and faster as the awful unavoidable fate of both women slowly becomes clear. a very tightly plotted and hugely enjoyable novel, which slips down as smoothly as the champagne served at the glittering parties her characters attend, only to leave a satisfyingly bitter taste at its endUnflinching, cool, brutal. This book will make you its accomplice. You'll go willinglyIf this novel were a drink, it would be a martini - shockingly cold and clean, and to be slugged back in one gulp. It's also tom Ripley updated for 21st-century Manhattan with added smartphones . AddictiveLike fireworks in the night sky, this explosive debut has darkness and glitz aplentyA compulsively readable, razor sharp novel of manners for the social media age. Edith Wharton meets Patricia HighsmithDevious and decadent. I couldn't put it downA mesmerizing and beautifully lyrical debut about sexuality, identity, envy, confusion, and the creepy ways in which we swallow one another in an attempt to become ourselvesA hugely compulsive read....Imagine Genuine Fraud meets The Secret History in the world of Gossip Girl.This book is beautiful, bohemian, seedy, sharp - and as devastating as it is decadentA tarred-and-feathered shining gorgeous bloody obsessive compulsive shining shining shining nightmare fever dream of a book: The Secret History meets 2018 Gatsby meets The Talented Mr. RipleyOne of the most anticipated releases of the summer . A Talented Mr Ripley-esque story that mischieviously weaves around the envy and obsession of social media . Total, brilliant carnageSocial Creature is a millennial update on the well-trodden rags-to-riches fable - think Cinderella and The Great Gatsby meets the Kardashians - where pout-filled posts on Facebook and Uber rides are as much woven into its fabric as the iconic Manhattan skylineLike 1980s Jay McInerney, but with murderA Ripleyesque exploration of female insecurity set among the socialites of Manhattan