Social Creature: A Novel

When Louise met Lavinia, she knew her life would never be the same. The truth is, when anyone meets Lavinia, their lives change forever. Louise was barely scraping by in New York City. She worked as a barista and a writer for an online resale site and an SAT tutor. It's one of her tutoring flyers that first catches Lavinia's eye. Her younger sister Cordelia is in town, and Lavinia wants to make sure she's ready for her college test because Cordelia wants to go to Yale, and everyone wants Cordelia to be successful. Or maybe Lavinia just wanted someone to stay with Cordelia while she went out. Lavinia had the money to pay Louise for her time with Cordelia, which Louise desperately needs. But Lavinia stayed out all night. Then Lavinia came back and she had ripped her dress and she promised to pay Louise for all the hours she spent there but somehow that never happened. But Louise fixes Lavinia's dress anyway and becomes Lavinia's friend and enters Lavinia's world, a world that Louise had given up on, like she had given up on her dream of Being a Writer. Except that Lavinia is a writer too. She encourages Louise to write and introduces her to writers and editors and an entire artistic group of friends, and Louise finds that she wants to stay. She wants to be part of their world. She doesn't want to have to keep struggling for money and working three jobs and feeling all alone in the city. She wants to be part of something, part of this community, and she will do anything to stay there. She will do anything to stay there. And she does. Tara Isabella Burton's debut novel is a dramatic look at class and desire, at how being a have-not can make you crazy for the power, the lifestyle, and the social cache of the upper class. Social Creature is about the relationship between two women, Louise and Lavinia, about the secrets they share and the lies that come between them. The story is a mix of homage to Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley and the fast-paced social media world that we live in now. There are moments when a heavy-handed omniscient narrator interrupts the action, which can be a little off-putting, but other than that, Social Creature is a low-burning psychological thriller filled with unlikable characters you want to see knocked down a peg or two and the ambitious up-and-comers we all are deep down inside. This is a crazy, fascinating, disturbing, can't-bear-to-put-it-down novel, and I highly recommend it.

I didn’t quite like any of the characters. I didn’t quite relate to them, either. But that, I think, is the point. Engaging slow burn .

I have to say that I did enjoy this book solely on the fact that it was very suspenseful and because of that, I was able to move through it very quickly. The characters seemed a little underdeveloped and the run on sentences where a little much. The style seems to be Louise's stream of consciousness and she would just ramble on and on. Lavinia was also not a very likeable character but, I just HAD to know what happened to her and Louise.

Louise is your introvert who has moved to New York City in an effort to chase her dreams. She gets by by writing for GlaZam , SAT tutoring, and being a barista. Louise’s story is one we’ve all heard before, reminiscent of HBO’s “Girls.” Louise’s life soon transforms when she is introduced to her new SAT tutoring client, Cordelia, sister of socialite-ex-actress-writer-on-sabbatical-free-spirited-whimsical-nomadic Lavinia. Lavinia hasn’t a care in the world, to her, life is one big party you simply must live to the fullest. A friendship blossoms between Louise and Lavinia, the girls become inseparable. Lavinia introduces Louise to a life of absolute splendor, decadent parties every night, the most eclectic friends, operas, and sneaking in to New York’s landmarks. For Louise, this life is a fairytale, something she would likely never experienced on her own. Lavinia seems to have it all, a life of luxury and glam, but don’t let that fool you. Lavinia will go to extreme measures in an effort to not be alone. Soon, since they spend so much time together already, why not move in together. Louise doesn’t flinch at the prospect of free-rent. But don’t get too attached to Lavinia, she dies soon. At a party Louise meets Rex, a person she finally connects with and feels she actually belongs, rather than being a fly on the wall of Lavinia’s life. Come to find out, Rex is actually Lavinia’s first love who then, clearly becomes forbidden fruit. If there’s an anthem for this book, it’s Lana del Rey’s “This is What Makes Us Girls.” Don’t let me mislead you, this is dark and suspenseful book. A book about consequences and explores how manipulative social media can be. How far will we go to conceal the things we’ve done? How far will good intentions take us? This book was phenomenal! I devoured it quickly. I’m not usually interested in modern novels with the mention of social media and modern life in New York City, but this book is an exception. It’s writing is whimsical, raw, and blunt. Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for providing an ARC of this magnificent novel. Thank you Tara Isabella Burton for crafting a story that’s captivating and brilliant in every way.

Loved the book, but nobody in this genre can write as well as Patricia Highsmith. Burton's characters are amazing though.

Given this was on NPR's top books of 2018, I thought I was in for a literary treat. This book is anything but. The one word which I think very easily sums this book up is vapid, that goes for the characters and the storyline. The author certainly has an excellent command of the English language, no doubt, along with classical literary and arts references but the story comes up empty and hollow. It reads like a reality TV show about the spoiled rich kids of New York City. The story line is a hybrid of Bonfire of the Vanities and The Talented Mr. Ripley set in the age of social media. I gave it two stars because it kept me reading in hopes of it becoming more interesting or original; it didn't. Had I put it down and not finished it, I would have given it one star. It also smacks of the author wanting a screenplay deal. Sure hope that doesn't happen. It's a bad book and would be a much worse movie.

Well, it kept me interested enough to finish, but the last 30 pages or so were a slog because by then the book had crossed a line in absurdity. The concept is fantastic, if not original. The Talented Mr. Ripley in the age of social media. The writing style is much too self conscious, and the writer has a fascination with putting “so” before adverbs: “she exhales so slowly” “she tries, so vainly, to shush her” “she begins to sob, so brokenly”. It was either a tic or an affectation that drove me a little crazy as it was on nearly every page. However, you can tell the writer has talent and obvious intelligence. Her talent just needs to mature. In the meantime, this is a thriller that holds your interest for the first half. It could have worked all the way through for me if the character development had been better. I can stick with a story through outlandish plot twists if i believe in the characters. I didn’t believe in these characters.

This books is brilliant. And HILARIOUS. And literary. And absolutely the best book I have read in a long time. What a great combo of NYC and online reality. And funny as hell. I cannot praise it enough.

It was a book so i read it. Strange and disfunctional people with either too much money or not enough money meet and things don’t go well. I liked it.