Meg Mason, the critically acclaimed author of SORROW AND BLISS, returns with SOPHIE, STANDING THERE, a smartly funny, moving portrayal of a young woman at a crossroads and the solace she finds in the written word.

Much like the book’s title suggests, Sophie Pattison is more or less invisible. A witness to her own devastating life, she’s always standing in the wings, waiting for someone to tell her what to do next --- usually by way of neglecting or exploiting her. But this wasn’t always the case. Raised with a brother, Laurie, whom she adores, and best friends with Emma since they were 16, Sophie was once the proud and happy wife of Paul, as well as a noted go-getter working at a prominent book festival. But that all changed six months ago when her husband unceremoniously (and rather oafishly) told her that their marriage was ending.

Telling Sophie that she can do him a second favor --- the soul-crushing first being not to put up a fight --- Paul allows her to live in his small, dingy rental flat for cheap. Since then, Sophie has lived a half-life: her waistline shrinks as food becomes inedible, her once-bright complexion is marred with acne, and even her career shepherding authors to and from their panels and signings no longer provides her with the fulfilment it once did. Furthermore, she finds that she can no longer tolerate her friendship with Emma. Once a raging alcoholic, Emma is newly wed and happy in both her personal and professional lives. Laurie, now married to Jo (a nod to Louisa May Alcott’s classic tome of sisterhood and sacrifice), remains a lifeline, but she is often hesitant to reach out to him when she is feeling bereft and lonely.

"At once a tragicomic work about loneliness and the shame that compounds it, SOPHIE, STANDING THERE is both witty and irreverent, unfussy yet remarkably clever.... Book lovers and readers of Sally Rooney will devour this powerful tribute to literature and the owning of one’s voice."

The first spark of something of Sophie's former life comes when, after running her most successful book festival yet, she visits her favorite local bookstore and is invited by the booksellers to read an advance copy of Lilac Dunne’s latest book. Sophie remembers enjoying this uber-famous author’s work in her 20s, so she leaps at the chance to check out Human Beings. What she finds between the poorly typeset and error-filled advance copy is something like salvation, something like love.

Right from the start, Sophie can tell that this book is special, the kind that booksellers will call “unputdownable” and actually mean it. For years, she has been fine relegating herself to the sidelines helping authors with their mics and waters, directions to the lavatory, and instructions on how to answer audience questions. But now, she wonders: What would it be like to meet Lilac Dunne, to be in conversation with her, to soak up her literary and personal brilliance? As fate would have it, a cancellation in the festival’s lineup leads to an opening. With Human Beings just released, Dunne is booked as a replacement. 

As Sophie contends with and debates things like the fleshtone colors of mic wires and the comfort of armchairs, she begins in her mind an ongoing conversation with Dunne, who emerges as somewhat of a Greek chorus to guide her through her myriad hurts: the dissolution of her marriage, the fracturing of her friendship with Emma, the ways that she so often has been overlooked. And now a curveball has been thrown her way: Paul is not only soon to be engaged, he also has begun the process of adopting his new girlfriend's toddler son. Paul, who lost interest in Sophie even as they were attempting to build a family, will be a parent before her…if she is ever able to become one at all.

As the night of Dunne’s panel approaches, Sophie starts to feel like herself again. Then, through a slew of comedic errors, the unimaginable occurs. She meets Dunne, who seems to truly see her and appreciate her value. Slowly but surely, she is welcomed into Dunne’s life. And then the real reason for Sophie’s stultification is revealed. To say more would be to spoil the narrative that Meg Mason has painstakingly constructed here. However, it is not the twists or revelations that matter, but the verve and intensity with which she infuses every small, tender, lonely moment.

At once a tragicomic work about loneliness and the shame that compounds it, SOPHIE, STANDING THERE is both witty and irreverent, unfussy yet remarkably clever. But the book’s real power is Mason’s unflinching willingness to write a woman in the middle of an unglamorous, unkempt breakdown and tempt her out slowly, only through moments of true transformation and change. It’s a bold choice, and not one that many readers would sign up for if not for the dark comedy with which Mason infuses every scene. 

Though the dialogue can be a bit bland at times, there are also moments of crystalline wisdom: “All [a conversation] requires,” Dunne quips, “is chemistry and a sense of peril, and the assurance it will end.” Bolstering these charming witticisms is an all-encompassing, pervasive love of books and their writers, literature and its power, word-filled pages and cover blurbs. A lover of “sad-girl fiction,” Sophie is an expert in all things bookish. Readers will delight in Mason’s portrayals of prominent authors like Richard Osman and George Saunders, as seen in the moments before the stage light focuses and the audience is enraptured. 

Book lovers and readers of Sally Rooney will devour this powerful tribute to literature and the owning of one’s voice.