Social Creature

Reviews / Votes

[A] spectacularly impressive debut ... A ridiculously assured first novel, told in an utterly original voice -- Alison Flood * Observer * If 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 summer * The i * A formidable burlesque ... Sharp as a shard of broken mirror * New York Times Book Review * Burton 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 parties * Guardian * An 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 * Elle * [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) * New York Times * 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 desperation * Stylist * Meet 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 Girl -- Sarra Manning * Red * 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 * Times Literary Supplement * If you enjoyed The Talented Mr Ripley, you'll love this ... [A] gripping takedown of contemporary New York society * Stylist * This 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 friendships * Book Riot * Glittering, 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 you -- Danya Kukafka, bestselling author of Girl in Snow Lethally well controlled ... Addictive * Metro * I 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 History -- Emma Flint, author of Baileys Prize longlisted, Little Deaths Lavish 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 some -- Ali Land, author of Good Me, Bad Me Social Creature is the perfect upmarket beach read for the summer -- Charlotte Heathcote * Sunday Express * A 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 end * The i * Unflinching, cool, brutal. This book will make you its accomplice. You'll go willingly -- Georgia Clark, author of The Regulars If 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 ... Addictive * Metro * Like fireworks in the night sky, this explosive debut has darkness and glitz aplenty * Psychologies * A compulsively readable, razor sharp novel of manners for the social media age. Edith Wharton meets Patricia Highsmith -- Carol Goodman, bestselling author of The Lake of Dead Languages and The Widow's House Devious and decadent. I couldn't put it down -- Courtney Maum, author of Touch and I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You A 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 ourselves -- Swan Huntley, author of The Goddesses and We Could A 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 decadent -- Lydia Ruffles, author of The Taste of Blue Light A 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. Ripley -- Ella Risbridger 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 * Emerald Street * 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 * Glasgow Herald * Like 1980s Jay McInerney, but with murder -- India Knight * Sunday Times * A Ripleyesque exploration of female insecurity set among the socialites of Manhattan -- Best Books of 2018 * Guardian *