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A review by jenpaul13
Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton
4.0
The lives that others lead may seem enticing when compared to your own, but the secrets you don't see might change your mind. In Social Creatures by Tara Isabella Burton two young women's lives will be forever altered by the bond that forms between their very different lives.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Louise hasn't had an easy life, working endlessly to make ends meet. Lavinia has had led a privileged life, but she's battled her own demons despite the outward appearance of an easy life. After a fortuitous meeting brings Louise and Lavinia together, the two become inseparable and entangled in a toxic relationship. While Lavinia offers Louise an opportunity to experience some of the finer aspects of life, the pair become increasingly and dangerously dependent upon one another - Louise for the financial benefits a friendship with Lavinia offers and Lavinia for the caretaking skills that Louise invariably provides to maintain her access to the life of excess. When things go too far and their relationship is threatened Louise fights to maintain the life she's now become accustomed to.
A slow build toward a quick spiral down into dark, depraved depths, the narrative is equal parts disturbing and fascinating. Providing a glimpse into the lives of the affluent others through the vehicle of an "ordinary" person, this story demonstrates the tangled webs woven throughout the social structure of the so-called elite with an intimate and entertaining tale of intrigue. Through the narration style, the reader becomes complicit in Louise's acts, unable to stop them as Louise is unable to stop herself, which is an interesting tactic to engage readers. While characters don't necessarily need to be likable and a certain amount of frustration can be good, the characters in this novel were often simply too frustrating for me to really connect with them to fully enjoy the narrative.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Louise hasn't had an easy life, working endlessly to make ends meet. Lavinia has had led a privileged life, but she's battled her own demons despite the outward appearance of an easy life. After a fortuitous meeting brings Louise and Lavinia together, the two become inseparable and entangled in a toxic relationship. While Lavinia offers Louise an opportunity to experience some of the finer aspects of life, the pair become increasingly and dangerously dependent upon one another - Louise for the financial benefits a friendship with Lavinia offers and Lavinia for the caretaking skills that Louise invariably provides to maintain her access to the life of excess. When things go too far and their relationship is threatened Louise fights to maintain the life she's now become accustomed to.
A slow build toward a quick spiral down into dark, depraved depths, the narrative is equal parts disturbing and fascinating. Providing a glimpse into the lives of the affluent others through the vehicle of an "ordinary" person, this story demonstrates the tangled webs woven throughout the social structure of the so-called elite with an intimate and entertaining tale of intrigue. Through the narration style, the reader becomes complicit in Louise's acts, unable to stop them as Louise is unable to stop herself, which is an interesting tactic to engage readers. While characters don't necessarily need to be likable and a certain amount of frustration can be good, the characters in this novel were often simply too frustrating for me to really connect with them to fully enjoy the narrative.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.