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Other People's Fun

A wickedly funny literary thriller for the Instagram age

Harriet Lane

$32.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
28 October 2025
'I look. I can't stop looking. That's the deal, isn't it? We all know that's how it works. If someone wants to be seen - and oh, how they want to be seen - then someone has to watch.'

Ruth is alone, unnoticed and at a loss: her marriage has ended, her daughter is leaving home and her job is leading nowhere.

But luckily Sookie is back in her life - vivid, self-assured Sookie, who never spared the time for Ruth when they were teenagers, but who now seems to want to be friends. What could possibly go wrong?

As Ruth is caught up in Sookie's life, she sees that everything is not as simple and Instagrammable as Sookie would have you believe. But what has that got to do with Ruth, and what can she do about it?

Unputdownable, funny, spiky and subtle, Other People's Fun is a novel about modern life and the lies we tell our neighbours, friends, families and selves through the hall of mirrors that is social media. Filled with Harriet Lane's trademark creeping unease and forensic observation, this marks the long-awaited return of the mistress of literary suspense.
By:  
Imprint:   Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 214mm,  Width: 134mm,  Spine: 20mm
Weight:   215g
ISBN:   9781474602839
ISBN 10:   1474602835
Pages:   224
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

Harriet Lane has worked as an editor and staff writer at Tatler and the Observer. She has also written for the Guardian, Vogue and the New York Times. She is the author of two other novels, Alys, Always and Her. She lives in North London.

Reviews for Other People's Fun: A wickedly funny literary thriller for the Instagram age

Brilliant, clever, such a pleasure to read . . . Her writing is as sharp as a scalpel and her judgement is savage (this is not a criticism) -- Marian Keyes The perfect lesson in backstabbing. Bitchy, sly, and twisty - what a ride -- Claire Fuller Chilling, witty and unputdownable - a superb revenge drama that peels away the facades of social media -- Lissa Evans I adored this deliciously wicked satire on the narcissistic, entitled and sanctimonious side of elite middle-class life. It's brilliantly witty and stingingly sharp, with all too recognisable people, places and products tied up in a much sadder if suspenseful story. It reminded me of both Anita Brookner and Saltburn as a tale of what privilege and luck look like to those who feel deprived of it. Other People's Fun deserves every success -- Amanda Craig The Jane Austen of the Instagram age on brilliant form -- Julie Burchill


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