Social Creature

[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 Stillmans dialogue to the mix, you might come close to the feel of Burtons 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 Lavinias lavishness against Louises 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 its 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 shed 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, youll 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 Burtons 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. Its 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 ba

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 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