Lioness
Winner of the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
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Lioness
Narrated by:
Kerry Fox
Buy Now for £14.31
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Narrated by:
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Kerry Fox
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By:
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Emily Perkins
Summary
** AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER & WINNER OF THE OCKHAM NZ BOOK AWARDS**
'The most exciting novel I've read in ages... I gulped it down, so readable, so EXCELLENT about people. Read it' Marian Keyes
‘This novel is perfection’ Glamour
'A coolly ironic look at modern womanhood… This is an excellent novel’ The Times
You know how we say we devoured a story, and also that we were consumed by it? Eating and being eaten. It was like that with Claire, for me.
From humble beginnings, Therese has let herself grow used to a life of luxury after marrying into an empire-building family. But when rumours of corruption gather around her husband's latest development, the social opprobrium is shocking, the fallout swift, and Therese begins to look at her privileged and insular world with new eyes.
In the flat below Therese, something else is brewing. Her neighbour Claire believes she's discovered the secret to living with freedom and authenticity, freeing herself from the mundanity of domesticity. Therese finds herself enchanted by the lure of the permissive zone Claire creates in her apartment – a place of ecstatic release.
All too quickly, Therese is forced to confront herself and her choices – just how did she become this person? And what exactly should she do about it?
‘A thoughtful, intelligent novel about one woman’s search for more meaning’ Good Housekeeping
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Critic reviews
'I've just finished reading a great GREAT book! Lioness by New Zealand author Emily Perkins is the most exciting novel I've read in ages... Ostensibly about a dysfunctional family it's really about feminism. I gulped it down, so readable, so EXCELLENT about people. Read it' (Marian Keyes)
‘A thoughtful, intelligent novel about one woman’s search for more meaning’
I was so gripped by this astoundingly good book. Rich, disturbing, deep, sharp and unputdownable. Gave me shivers about women, families, the masks we wear, how hard it is to tear them off - and what happens when we do (Charlotte Wood)
A terrific novel about self-doubt and changing life
Explores the damage done to women by living behind a mask… A well-told story of family rivalry and sibling whining… there are moments of droll humour… the central story is strong… captured smartly
This novel is perfection
The nuance of Lioness’s portrait of a mid-life personal and political awakening is extremely seductive
A coolly ironic look at modern womanhood… this is an excellent novel
Lioness is a bold, exuberant and illuminating exploration of identity that exposes the chasm between what one believes and how one actually lives. Perkins’ writing is exquisite, her observations so strikingly acute and original they will make you gasp
Rich and deeply layered… A thought-provoking read about identity and meaning in life
A novel that roars with the desire for authenticity and reinvention… Perkins’ prose is elegant, economical and seamless. She’s a magnificent writer, commenting on women’s empowerment, awakening and visibility to themselves with poise and grace
Praise for Emily Perkins:
'Perkins is an extraordinary writer
Literary fiction at its most luscious
Brilliant and boundary smashing
Exhilarating: intensely attentive, funny, lyrical and moving
Neither quite comedy nor quite tragedy but – exactly like real life – an uneasy blend of both
A master of dialogue and plain speech, a casual Carver for our times
Funny, painful and utterly mesmerising
'Perkins writes vividly and often beautifully' (Alan Massie)
Lioness by New Zealand author Emily Perkins is the most exciting novel I've read in ages ... Ostensibly about a dysfunctional family it's really about feminism. I gulped it down, so readable, so EXCELLENT about people. Read it (Marian Keyes)
I was so gripped by this astoundingly good book. Rich, disturbing, deep, sharp and unputdownable (Charlotte Wood)
A coolly ironic look at modern womanhood … This is an excellent novel
Explores the damage done to women by living behind a mask … A well-told story of family rivalry and sibling whining … there are moments of droll humour … the central story is strong … captured smartly
Brilliant story and fantastic narration
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The writing is not terrible, but I can only think that praise has been forthcoming from contemporaries who are themselves captured authors - no longer able to objectively view and depict reality. Instead 'reality' is now dictated by agents and their lists of 'must-incude' themes and identities, to portray an inauthentic and homogenised societal landscape as a prerequisite for publication.
I think we're supposed to admire the journey the protagonist has been on, but it seems to me she hasn't even begun to open her eyes.
Petty young woman rebels against older woman by defecating on rug.
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Power and wealth at what cost
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boring boring boring
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