Book of the Week: LIONESS by Emily Perkins

This well written, cutting portrayal of social mechanics will make you look differently at those around you. “After marrying the older, wealthier Trevor, Teresa Holder has transformed herself into upper-class Therese Thorn, complete with her own homeware business. But when rumours of corruption gather around one of Trevor’s property developments, the fallout is swift, and Therese begins to reevaluate her privileged world. Emily Perkins weaves multiple plotlines and characters with impressive dexterity. Punchy, sophisticated and frequently funny, Lioness is an incisive exploration of wealth, power, class, female rage, and the search for authenticity.” —Ockham judges’ citation on short-listing the book for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction in the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards

• “It will make you shudder and laugh simultaneously” —Read Stella’s review..

• Can a woman change her life?

• There like a husk.

• Satire of the anxious rich.

• Our obsession with wellbeing.

• What happens when middle-aged women start dancing?

• Her first book in a decade.

• Not the default position.

• “The things that keep me going.” >>Flanking the book at Stella & Thomas’s house.

• Other books short-listed for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards