  | Book Details Title: Oligarchy: A Novel |
Book DescriptionReview Praise for Oligarchy One of the Evening Standard‘s Best Books of the Year Entertainment Weekly, 1 of the 50 Must-Read Books of the Month Popsugar, 1 of the 18 Best Books Coming Out This Month One of CrimeReads‘s Most Anticipated Books of the Year “The privileged teenage girls in this dark comedy, attending a dysfunctional, third-string boarding school in the countryside north of London, get caught up in a mass-psychogenic, contagious version of anorexia nervosa. Thomas’s prose is fast-thinking, entertaining and punchy.” ―The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice “One of the funniest novels in recent years . . . It takes a special kind of audacity to write a comic novel about teenagers with eating disorders, but Thomas executes it brilliantly . . . It’s Thomas’ boldness, as well as her writing―every sentence seems painstakingly constructed―that make Oligarchy such a remarkable novel. It’s brash, bizarre and original, an unflinching look at a group of young women who have become ‘hungry ghosts, flickering on the edge of this world.'” ―Michael Schaub, NPR “Thomas’s humor has a sharp, rhythmic perfection. Her prose is fast-thinking, entertaining and punchy, her dialogue fully authentic without sinking into the tedium of real-life conversation . . . Intriguing, fluid and frequently funny.” ―Lydia Millet, The New York Times Book Review “In this delicious Gothic set in a British boarding school, the daughter of a massively rich Russian finds herself menaced equally by Instagram, an anorexia epidemic, and a spectral ancestor whose haunting portraits seem to watch her every move.” ―O, The Oprah Magazine, 1 of 16 Best Books to Read This Month “Thomas does a fantastic job of capturing the mental and verbal style of a contemporary teen without being precious or exasperating . . . This is a weird, twisty book, and anyone familiar with Thomas’ oeuvre will expect the kind of dark humor that is only possible from a writer of profound compassion. Strong stuff. Another strange delight from one of the United Kingdom’s most interesting authors.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Satisfying, keenly observed . . . Thomas’s depiction of the image-driven hive mind that dictates adolescent girls’ relationships is spot-on . . . She’s captured with an empathetic eye all the brutal, visceral, and surprisingly funny aspects of teenage girlhood. This is a sharp, astute novel.” ―Publishers Weekly “Scarlett Thomas, a British writer who excels at delivering novels about difficult subjects, turns her brilliant, incisive gaze to a boarding school in Oligarchy . . . A strange but urgent glimpse into society’s often conflicting expectations of girls.” ―Bethanne Patrick, The Washington Post “Thomas (The Seed Collectors) has a perfectly pitched ear for human cruelty and self-delusion―one man has ‘the eyes of a lifeguard who lets people drown’―and all the wild tortures young girls subject themselves to just to feel pretty in the world.” ―Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly “Thomas has penned a sharp-eyed novel about the pressure society, adults, and peers put on girls to look and behave a certain way . . . Thomas deftly explores exactly what those cost are, and the toll they take on young women.” ―Booklist “Like all of Thomas’s work, it is weird, and clever, and dark.” ––Emily Temple, Literary Hub, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year “Scarlett Thomas has a truly wicked sense of humor. Oligarchy is like a Megan Abbott novel with a heavy dose of vicious satire . . . Thomas manages to interrogate dieting culture, boarding schools, and the habits of the rich, while never losing her pitch-perfect, hilariously cynical, utterly wicked voice.” ―Rebecca Hussey, Book Riot “A palpable thread of menace winds relentlessly through Oligarchy . . . This darkly funny novel of suspense, glorious in its scope, is just as interested in delineating the decadent capitalism glittering within contemporary London, the easy, casual cruelty integral to criminally funded wealth, and the pitch-black impulses that can lurk within the human heart.”―Daneet Steffens, The Seattle Review of Books “A very dark look into what it’s like being a teenage girl in a world of Instagram . . . There’s a mystery that runs throughout the story, and it comes to a satisfying (if depressing) conclusion.” ―Emily Burack, Alma, One of Our Favorite Books of the Season “Scarlett Thomas hits upon the bizarreness of adolescence and the inanity that comes with it.” ―Sophie Matthews, Women.com “Thomas’ work reveals her deep empathy for human vulnerabilities, her omnivorous curiosity, and her quirky and dark sense of humor. In her latest novel, Oligarchy, Thomas joins noir mystery and arch social commentary to create a provocative coming-of-age tale.” ―Lori Feathers, Literary Hub “A fast, fizzy read . . . Entertaining, irreverent and wrong-hilarious . . . Hugely enjoyable. It’s about as menacing as a cool girl’s black glitter nail polish―and just as much fun.” ―Bidisha, The Observer “A darkly comic tale about the tribulations of the daughter of a Russian oligarch sent to an English boarding school” ―Martin Chilton, Independent “[A] riotously enjoyable novel . . . There are few more vivaciously original novelists around today, and surely none of them is having as much fun while making serious points.” ―Alex Peake-Tomkinson, The Spectator “Thomas’s quirky, darkly funny novel lifts the lid on the ways of teenage girls in the intense surroundings of a boarding school.” ―Eithne Farry, The Daily Mail “Oligarchy is a delicious slap in the face―stunningly intelligent, alarmingly modern, hilariously funny, deeply pertinent, true, fantastical and several hankies’ worth of poignant.” ––Louisa Young, author of My Dear I Wanted to Tell You “An intricate black jewel of a novel. Weeks later I’m still thinking about it.” ––Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark “The savagery of a private girls’ school in England is not to be underestimated and never to be forgotten upon reading Oligarchy, Scarlett Thomas’s scathing and brilliantly written novel of wealth and vanity run terribly amok.” ––Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen Praise for The Seed Collectors Named a best summer read by BuzzFeed and Good Housekeeping “Thomas has a gift for interior monologues that flow steadily and easily, carrying you through a character’s mental landscape, full of vivid imagery and digressions that flirt with spinning out of control but never quite go too far.” ―The New York Times Book Review “The Seed Collectors is entrancing: it’s a sharply observed contemporary novel of real people and real plants and real desire and real hurt, and it’s somehow also one of the sharpest fantasies I’ve encountered. A sour-and-sweet delight.” ―Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods “A smart and witty family drama, taking in secrets, sex, suicide, celebrity and the meaning of life.” ―Glamour “Always original . . . a mindbending novel of family drama.” ―Good Housekeeping “A weird, wonderful, and often wickedly funny family mini-saga… Bold, charming and inventive, The Seed Collectors will not only please Thomas’s American fans, it may win her new ones as well.” ―The Boston Globe “A searing family saga with dollops of magical realism, The Seed Collectors is an exquisitely nimble novel about self-knowledge, love and self-love, and the many ways we shape our lives.” ―Claire Fallon, Huffington Post “The Seed Collectors, is laugh-out-loud funny for pages at a time. As British reviewers noted, it fits securely into the great tradition of the modern British comic novel . . . Thomas is more interested in rubbing words and ideas together and seeing what sparks they throw off than in telling stories that reinforce what we already think and end happily for likeable characters.” ―The Millions “Simultaneously sharply-drawn and dreamlike, often hilarious, The Seed Collectors is a baroque family saga of human fallibility, love, eccentricity, sex, spirituality, and of a lost, legendary, coincidentally lethal route to absolute transcendence. Scarlett Thomas is a splendid novelist.” ―William Gibson, author of Neuromancer “Scarlett Thomas is one of my favorite writers ever and The Seed Collectors might be her best yet. She fuses the comically everyday with a far-out botanical adventure in ways which are brutally funny and profound all at once. Barbed, casually genius, philosophical and intensely readable. A joy.” ―Matt Haig, author of The Radleys “Thomas succeeds in creating a funny yet poignant tale that is as much about yearning for connection as it is about seeking enlightenment. Kudos to her for penning a splendid novel that blends botany, philosophy, and mystery.” ―Library Journal, Starred Review “[A] hyperbolic, raunchy, hilarious immersion in the connected lives of some intensely imperfect people… Thomas is a literary star in the United Kingdom. She should be in the United States, too.” ―Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review “Acclaimed British writer Thomas uses a large cast of dysfunctional characters to explore concepts of connectedness and responsibility. With equal parts family saga, intriguing mystery, and existential foray, this magical tale of love and illumination will keep readers on their toes.” ―Booklist “Ebullient prose, engaging characters, lively imagination, illuminating details ― Thomas is an original, and her novel is consistently entertaining.” ―Publishers Weekly “We’d recommend keeping your eyes on this author.” ―Bookish Read more About the Author SCARLETT THOMAS was born in London in 1972. Her other novels include The Seed Collectors, PopCo, and The End of Mr. Y, which was long-listed for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction in 2007, and she teaches creative writing at the University of Kent. Read more Customers Review: This is the story of Natasha, or “Tash” — the daughter of an elusive Russian billionaire. She is sent to an all girls boarding school in the English countryside. The boarding school is almost a character in itself. Victorian, creepy and populated with an odd staff. The other girls are obsessed with getting and staying skinny, and the whole lot of them delve into the world of anorexia. A kind of group psychosis. There are 2 mysterious deaths, a student and later a teacher. Tash navigates this new English world with only the occasional company of her glamorous and mysterious Aunt Sonja who lives in London. This book was blackly comical, a bit sad, but unique and engaging. It did lag a bit toward the end. A bit more editing would’ve helped.
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13 reviews