OverDrive would like to use cookies to store information on your computer to improve your user experience at our Website. One of the cookies we use is critical for certain aspects of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but this could affect certain features or services of the site. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, click here to see our Privacy Policy.
'A Ripleyesque exploration of female insecurity set among the socialites of Manhattan' Guardian, Books of the Year 'An irresistible novel about a toxic friendship taken to the extreme' 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 Ripleyesque exploration of female insecurity set among the socialites of Manhattan' Guardian, Books of the Year 'An irresistible novel about a toxic friendship taken to the extreme' 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?
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
About the Author-
Tara 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 Theology at the University of Oxford and is a prodigious travel writer, short story and scriptwriter and essayist. She works for Vox as their Faith and Religion Correspondent. Tara Isabella Burton lives in New York and divides her time between the Upper East Side and Oxford. taraisabellaburton.com @NotoriousTIB
Reviews-
Starred review from April 16, 2018 Fans of the cult classic Poison Ivy will appreciate the mousy girl–wild girl dynamic on display in Burton’s fiendishly clever debut. At 29, insecure Louise Wilson is a would-be writer living in fear of the dictum, “if you haven’t made it in New York by 30, you never will.” All that changes when she meets 23-year-old socialite Lavinia Williams, who seems to be channeling the free spirit of the late Zelda Fitzgerald (with flapper dresses to match). Larger-than-life Lavinia takes Louise under her wing and introduces her new bestie to a Manhattan she never knew existed, including parties in haunted hotels and secret bookstores and people with names like Beowulf Marmont and Athena Maidenhead, all the while dressing as if for a costume ball that never ends. Only later does Louise experience the hateful, spiteful, jealous side of Lavinia’s personality in what becomes an ingenious dark thriller in the Patricia Highsmith Tom Ripley mode. Louise and Lavinia are bold, brilliant characters. This devious, satisfying novel perfectly captures a very narrow slice of the Manhattan demimonde. Agent: Emma Parry, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.
New York Times Book Review
A formidable burlesque ... Sharp as a shard of broken mirror
New York Times
[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)
Times Literary Supplement
It 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
Sunday ExpressSocial Creature is the perfect upmarket beach read for the summer
Psychologies
Like fireworks in the night sky, this explosive debut has darkness and glitz aplenty
Emerald Street
One 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 carnage
Glasgow Herald
Social 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 skyline
Sunday Times
Like 1980s Jay McInerney, but with murder
Title Information+
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
OverDrive Read
Release date:
EPUB eBook
Release date:
Digital Rights Information+
Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.
Please update to the latest version of the OverDrive app to stream videos.
Device Compatibility Notice
The OverDrive app is required for this format on your current device.
Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
You've reached your library's checkout limit for digital titles.
To make room for more checkouts, you may be able to return titles from your Checkouts page.
Excessive Checkout Limit Reached.
There have been too many titles checked out and returned by your account within a short period of time.
Try again in several days. If you are still not able to check out titles after 7 days, please contact Support.
You have already checked out this title. To access it, return to your Checkouts page.
This title is not available for your card type. If you think this is an error contact support.
There are no copies of this issue left to borrow. Please try to borrow this title again when a new issue is released.
| Sign In
You will be prompted to sign into your library account on the next page.
If this is your first time selecting “Send to NOOK,” you will then be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
The first time you select “Send to NOOK,” you will be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
You can read periodicals on any NOOK tablet or in the free NOOK reading app for iOS, Android or Windows 8.
