Why read Social Creature?

Book description

One of the Best Books of the Year:
Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Vulture
NPR

"Social Creature is a wicked original with echoes of the greats (Patricia Highsmith, Gillian Flynn)." —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

For readers of Gillian Flynn and Donna Tartt, a dark, propulsive and addictive…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Social Creature as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Julia Stone

Author

We’re straight in the story from page one, experiencing the intensity of the toxic relationship Louise has with her new best friend – a woman she’s only known ten days. Louise has a complex personality, her low self-esteem leading to constant self-assessment. But boy, how she changes! I liked the way the author breaks the fourth wall by directing comments to the reader, the foreshadowing allowing us to know what’s coming before the characters. Not my usual choice, as the novel is set in America with a cast under 30, but I enjoyed the build in tension as I waited…

From Julia's list on The best books where a character pretends to be someone they’re not (and we’re waiting for them to get caught out).

Sarah Terez Rosenblum

Author

Okay. Obsession take four. This time it’s platonic, sort of. When Louise, a disillusioned writer meets bored socialite Lavinia, the two are drawn into an increasingly dysfunctional friendship. Lavinia’s money and social clout offer Louise what talent hasn’t allowed her; entree into an elite literary scene. Written in the present tense, Social Creature is sumptuous in its details and propulsive in its plot. The reader journeys with Louise through a funhouse mirror tiled with Instagram squares. Call it The Talented Mr. Ripley meets Single White Female with a millennial twist.

From Sarah's list on The best books about people who should know better than to be this obsessed.