Lioness

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 TimesYou 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

Disturbing, deep, smart, and funny as hell, Lioness is unforgettable -- Ockham Prize Judges
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’ Good Housekeeping
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 Good Reading Magazine
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 Independent
This novel is perfection Glamour
The nuance of Lioness’s portrait of a mid-life personal and political awakening is extremely seductive Financial Times
A coolly ironic look at modern womanhood… this is an excellent novel The Times
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 Books + Publishing
Rich and deeply layered… A thought-provoking read about identity and meaning in life Muddy Stilettos
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 Better Reading
Praise for Emily Perkins:
'Perkins is an extraordinary writer Sunday Times
Literary fiction at its most luscious MAIL ON SUNDAY
Brilliant and boundary smashing NEW STATESMAN
Exhilarating: intensely attentive, funny, lyrical and moving DAILY TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Neither quite comedy nor quite tragedy but – exactly like real life – an uneasy blend of both GUARDIAN
A master of dialogue and plain speech, a casual Carver for our times OBSERVER
Funny, painful and utterly mesmerising INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
'Perkins writes vividly and often beautifully' -- Alan Massie Scotsman
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 The Times
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 Independent
Interesting, exciting novels about the interiority of middle-aged women are really thin on the ground. Lioness by Emily Perkins is one of the rare few -- Marian Keyes, The Guardian

Emily Perkins is the author of a prize-winning collection of short stories, Not Her Real Name, and four novels, including Novel About My Wife (winner of the NZ Book Award and the Believer Magazine Book of the Year, and The Forrests (longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction). Her work for stage and screen includes co-writing the film adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s novel The Rehearsal (dir. Alison Maclean), an adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and the original play The Made. She lives in New Zealand.

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