Praise for Beautiful Animals:"[A] startlingly good observer of privilege, noting the rites and rituals of the upper classes with unerring precision and an undercurrent of malice Osborne has been described as an heir to Graham Greene, and he shares with Greene an interest in what might be called the moral thriller. Katie Kitamura, New York Times Book "Lets not mince words. This is a great book. Truly difficult to put down, the novel exerts a sickening pull. Its climax and resolution will not disappoint. The social perspective is sophisticated, smart and uncomfortable, and the story is cracking." Lionel Shriver, Washington Post"Aseductively menacing new thriller by Lawrence Osborne... who unites Graham Greenes fondness for foreign soil with Patricia Highsmiths fascination with the nastier coils of the human psyche... What makes Osbornes work so compelling is that its ruthlessly unpredictable. This is one writer who knows that life, even on a rapturously lovely Greek island, is no day at the beach. NPRs Fresh AirAsun-drenched summer novel with a shadow of death hanging over it. NPR's "All Things Considered""As a thriller, a real page-turner, and as social commentary an astutely glancing approach to Europe's migration crisis. Rivetingly well written. Osborne...has a fine feel for the complexities of culture clash."Financial Times(Summer Picks 2017)Beautiful Animals is terrifically well constructed, written with mean authority, brilliantly evocative about place, successfully engaging us with its characters without ever requiring us to like them. A masterpiece of disaffection, all round. Evening Standard (London)"Sensuous and elegantly written... a masterful and sophisticated psychological thriller that explores moral ambiguity from multiple perspectives." BBC Culture (best beach reads of 2017)Beautifully crafted and psychologically astute, Osborne's latest novel takes us on another journey through a heart of moral darkness. A rich, disturbing, and compelling read."Kirkus (starred review)"Soaked in lush descriptions of the breathtaking Greek countryside... brilliantly paced."Booklist (starred review)Praise for Lawrence Osborne: Osbornes writing is uncomfortably well observed; his story is sickeningly, addictively headlong Lionel Shriver, author of We Need to Talk about Kevin If the purpose of a novel is to take you away from the everyday and show you something different, then Osborne is succeeding, and handsomely Lee Child, New York Times Book Mr. Osborne has a keen and sometimes cruel eye for humans and their manners and morals Surprising and dark and excellent New York Times Elegant, stylish edgy and gripping. Written with unfailing precision and beauty Neel Mukherjee, Man Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Lives of Others Sumptuous and sinister, languorous and tense Sunday Times (UK)About the AuthorLAWRENCE OSBORNE is the author of the critically acclaimed novelsThe Forgiven,The Ballad of a Small Player, andHunters in the Dark, and of six books of nonfiction. His short story "Volcano" was selected for TheBest American Short Stories 2012, and he has written for TheNew York Times Magazine,The New Yorker, Cond Nast Traveler, Forbes,Harper's,and other publications. He lives in Bangkok. is there an ar test for my book Beautiful Animals: A Novel
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful. "WHO'S BETTER THAN US?" JIMMY SAYS. "NO ONE," SAYS HIS WIFEBy David KeymerWhos better than us? is retired airline executive Jimmy Codringtons nightly toast to his wife Phaine. No one! is what she says back to him. And then they go on to drinks and food, all supplied without fuss by their Greek maid-cook as they sit, talk, argue and gradually grow too drunk to talk or argue in their exquisite summer villa on the small Greek island of Hydra. Comments Osborne: it was the law of summers among the rich that the season of leisure should flow like a large and charming river. The imperative was to have a good time and float along on the luminescent surface. You couldnt back down or show weakness. It was not that different from the Hamptons, except this was less pretentious and slightly less soulless. (That last sentence is chilling!) There is a neon sign above a bed on the Codingtons yacht that spells out the word Disgrace. It cost him $20,000. The bedside lamps are made of solid glass; Keith Haring panels are set in the walls. The Codingtons daughter Naomi and her friend Sam end up at an artists villa one night. In the garden, they see tortoises moving slowly by, candlesticks soldered into their shells.Its a world where nothing bad is ever supposed to enter but of course it does. The vehicle for disruption is a man, a stranger, an Arab, Faoud, whom Naomi and Sam find on a beach. Hes a refuge, washed ashore in flight from Syria, or so it seems, and the Codingtons daughter unlocks the gate to him, impelled by as mixture of idealism (we need to treat Muslims even better than we would Christians because theyve been so mistreated) and sexual interest. Sam has reservations about getting close to Faoud but she goes along with Naomis plans and in the process provides the reader with a second perspective on what unfolds. Because the Codingtons and Haldanes (Sams family) live in a bubble. The world outside that bubble isnt innocent or nice. Its indifferent, even cruel. Thats something they soon, and tragically, find out.Osborne has been compared to Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh for his but a fairer comparison to me is Paul Bowles. Both novelists document the clash of cultures, what happens when the contained world of the disaffected and wealthy is intruded upon by an exotic untamed, and the jolting, bloody consequences of such meetings. It takes a while to get into this disorienting novel, but the payoff is worth it. Osborne is a writer of consequence.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Joanne E. TaylorInteresting, sometimes uncomfortable, but worth sticking with it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy John C.Getting interesting.