One of the Best Books of the Year: Janet Maslin, The New York TimesVultureNPR”Social Creature is a wicked original with echoes of the greats (Patricia Highsmith, Gillian Flynn).” —Janet Maslin, The New York TimesFor readers of Gillian Flynn and Donna Tartt, a dark, propulsive and addictive debut thriller, splashed with all the glitz and glitter of New York City.They go through both bottles of … glitz and glitter of New York City.
They go through both bottles of champagne right there on the High Line, with nothing but the stars over them… They drink and Lavinia tells Louise about all the places they will go together, when they finish their stories, when they are both great writers-to Paris and to Rome and to Trieste…
Lavinia will never go. She is going to die soon.
Louise has nothing. Lavinia has everything. After a chance encounter, the two spiral into an intimate, intense, and possibly toxic friendship. A Talented Mr. Ripley for the digital age, this seductive story takes a classic tale of obsession and makes it irresistibly new.
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ara Isabella Burton defintely wrote this novel with a fresh, unique writing style, all her own original flavor. Throughout Social Creature we follow Louise and Lavinia as they hit the clubs and parties of New York City, always crashing every social scene, and somehow making themselves brilliantly relevant at them. I found myself craving the excitement they sought out and envying the idea that for Lavinia, money is never an object. This novel is not your everyday thriller. The twisty-turny non-stop surprises everyone is looking for as of late, will not be found, atleast not in the usual sense. There is something much deeper here that carries an eerie tone, as well as a vast feeling of anxiety, throughout the whole novel. Lavinia is playing a game of power and control… Louise will tell any lie she has to to remain a part of it. Social creature is Terrifying in the realization that life can quickly spiral out of control, and focuses deftly on the inner workings of relationships, the insurmountable desire to be socially relevant/accepted, the destruction caused by lies and jealousy, the weight of loneliness, and the heartbreaking realization that it can be easier to be someone else and be accepted – rather than be yourself. This story is one realistically tragic account of “friendship” between females.The novel coveys the truth that today people strive to be a part of things they don’t even have an interest in, just to fit in. It isn’t shy on showing that many times, people won’t even notice the most important things, if it’s easier and less intrudent on their lives to believe alternatives. Full of heartbreaking depth, cruelty, and tragic outcomes; Social Creature is something all its own. Thank you Penguin First to Read!
With a cover that practically screams ‘Look at me!’ and a blurb that piques the interest, I expected a hard to put down, psychological thriller. Sadly, putting this one down is all I wanted to do almost from the very beginning.
For me, a good thriller should have that nail-biting, what’s gonna happen next element that keeps a reader on the edge of their seat. I didn’t find any of that here. What I did find was a somewhat frenetic writing style and an over the top storyline. The biggest drawback for me were the characters. I didn’t find a single likable character in the book – not even among the secondary characters. There’s not a redeeming quality in any of them. Maybe this was intentional and I just missed something, but I couldn’t even drum up some sympathy for the dead girl.
With all the hype and the number of four and five-star reviews, I’m clearly in the minority on this one, but it’s clearly not the book for me.
This book was dark, but I loved it. It had a bit of a slow start but the pace revved up at the end and I stayed up all night finishing it. There were tons of great subtle craft gems in the writing and the voice was excellent.
Social Creature from Tara Isabella Burton is one of the few books I have read that I have a very difficult time deciding how much I like or dislike it. Oddly enough, that alone makes me like it a bit more, I like things that are, in themselves, problematic.
First, the characters are largely not very likable, which is fine. The scene we’re thrust into is one of money, entitlement, and drugs/alcohol, so there aren’t going to be many likable people in this world. If you must have a person to like in a novel, you probably won’t like this one (or you’re an unlikable person and relate to them too well). Of course, being unlikable doesn’t mean there aren’t things about them we can relate to. We all want to be loved, respected, appreciated, and all those other types of things. While most of us don’t and wouldn’t go to the extremes of these characters we can, if we make the effort, relate to there basic needs and/or what in their past made them particularly susceptible to a particular aspect of this toxic scene.
The part that is scary, in a “this might be something that could happen” way, is the role social media plays in the plot. Is what happened in the novel likely to be something one could get away with? Probably not to the extent the plot allows it to go to. However, that does not mean social media can’t be used in these ways to a lesser extreme but with equally dark results.
I have seen that some readers didn’t like the ending. While I understand their complaint, I found it to be an excellent illustration of Louise’s true character. You would think with all that happens to that point we would already know her, but the end really drives the point home.
Those relatively positive points are countered by some things I found less enjoyable. I could put aside the fact I thought what Louise was getting away with was far-fetched, that is part of this genre. But it just seemed that some things were on a continuous loop which made the story drag a bit for me. Similar scenes illustrating characteristics we have already been shown. After several of these types of scenes I was a little bored. While the writing was good it just seemed like the premise, as Burton had developed it, didn’t make a full length novel so some repetition helped fill in the middle and later portions. This may have worked much better as a novella than a novel, or perhaps had more background prior to Louise and Lavinia meeting. What background we did get was through a sort of reminiscing, which I did like, so any other background would have needed to still allow for those moments. For it was in those moments that we glimpsed what might help create a person like either Louise or Lavinia.
I would recommend this to readers who can still enjoy a well-written novel that has some flaws. I do think the basic premise is a large part of what made me give the rating a slight boost.
Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.
What a read! Thank you First to Read for allowing me to read and review Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton.
This is the kind of books I love as disturbing as that sounds. I have to say the first 40 pages slowed me down but once I got pass that I really got into this dark read. I liked all but 2 characters.
Louise is your favorite on and off and boy did she have to keep up with her character. Lavinia is just a spoiled selfish unlikable character and she steps on people to get her way.
This is about 2 friends friendship that turns into an obsession and you’ll have to read this to figure out who, but you’ll go back n forth in your mind how both are just like the other. Who is really the bad friend? Who is really obsessed with who? This is oh so good, plus add social media and some weird friends, I was on the edge of my seat reading this wondering where things would end. This book will stay with me a long time and so will the ending.
This will be published in June of 2018. And I thank First To Read for the ARC.
It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t the thriller I thought it would be. I read most of it, but only skimmed through the remaining chapters.
Tara Isabella Burton’s Social Creature is one dark twisted read that will turn your world upside down and flip you back over again, just to mess with you one more time.
Lavinia is an impulsive free spirit whose family has provided her with a lavish lifestyle. When her path crosses with Louise who is studious and responsible, they build a unique friendship that creates waves through both of their lives. What seems like a mutually beneficial friendship turns into a dark, toxic relationship that includes posh parties, alcohol, drugs and flamboyant social media posts. Things quickly spiral out of control and that’s when the wild ride begins. What extremes will someone go to in order to sustain their lifestyle or simply survive?
There is not much I can say about this one without giving away too much. A blind approach is the best bet on this one. The short blurb provided is all you need because any more than that and you will not get the full affect. This story felt to me like the writing style of Mary Kubica with the darkness of Gillian Flynn. It was unique, quirky, unexpected and ominous. I consumed it in one sitting on a beautiful sunny afternoon, but the irony was not lost on me. I felt like I was under a gloomy veil of sinister secrets and chilling deceit despite my surroundings. Don’t drop your guard because this one will knock the wind out of you when you aren’t looking.
4 shocking stars
*Review by Amy, Late Night Reviewer for Up All Night with Books Blog*