Sophie, Standing There: A Novel

“So smart, so funny, so moving. I absolutely loved it.”—Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

The “brilliant” (Ann Patchett) and much beloved author of the critically acclaimed Sorrow and Bliss returns with a tender and hilarious novel about heartbreak and the journey from isolation and loneliness towards love.

Sophie Pattison loves books. And as well as a dream job at a local book festival, she has a husband she adores, a lifelong best friend, Emma, and a brother she’s always been close to. Which makes you wonder why since Christmas Sophie has been living alone, estranged from Emma, avoiding her brother, and about to be fired.

Now it feels like the only thing she has left is reading. When Sophie re-discovers an author she first read in her twenties, the words on the page reach her in a new way—becoming both solace and company. Devouring every one of her novels, Sophie begins to dream of meeting her, knowing she never will. But what if she did? What if, by then, the author feels like a friend? What if, for Sophie, it feels almost like love?

In this much anticipated novel, Meg Mason captures the heartache and dark humor of our relationships in all their complexity, giving us a story about the power of connection and an ode to the inexplicable nature of the human heart.

“So smart, so funny, so moving. Mason has done it again, this time using the behind-the-scenes mechanics at a literary festival to reveal the complexity of loneliness and how one woman attempts to dig herself out. I absolutely loved it.” —Bonnie Garmus, New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

“The lucky reader of Sophie, Standing There peers at the world through Sophie's eyes, and wonders how her life shaped this view. When the answers are revealed—about her marriage, her childhood, the gaps in her understanding—we experience a kind of wholeness with her. Or at least the possibility of wholeness. I loved Sophie, and I love Meg Mason’s brain and the strange, wonderful, funny stories she gives us.” —Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello, Beautiful and Dear Edward

“Sophie, Standing There unfolds like a strange origami crane in reverse--so achingly tender and so brilliantly subtle that I could never put it down. The loneliness of our inner world and the quiet movement towards connection--nobody evokes it as breathtakingly as Meg Mason. And by ‘it,’ I guess I mean simply being a person. Dazzling.” —Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Wreck and Sandwich

“Sophie, Standing There is a moving examination of what it means to be alone in the world, and what it means to find connection. It is, by turns, heartbreaking, hilarious, and deeply hopeful. Meg Mason is a dazzling talent.”
—Ann Patchett, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake and Bel Canto

“I loved this book . . . funny and as endearing as a good friend.” —Barbara Kingsolver, on Sorrow and Bliss

“Witty and affecting.” —David Nicholls, author of You Are Here and One Day, on Sorrow and Bliss

“Completely brilliant. I loved it. I think every girl and woman should read it.” —Gillian Anderson, on Sorrow and Bliss

“A quiet and achingly beautiful love story. . . . LOVED it. Masterfully written. And powerful.” —Elin Hilderbrand, on Sorrow and Bliss

“A truly comic novel about love and the despair of depression. It’s a rare and beautiful thing when an author can break your heart with humor; it’s also the quality I admire most in a writer.” —New York Times Book Review, on Sorrow and Bliss

“Improbably charming . . . will have you chortling and reading lines aloud.” —People, on Sorrow and Bliss

“A truly comic novel about love and the despair of depression. It’s a rare and beautiful thing when an author can break your heart with humor; it’s also the quality I admire most in a writer.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest and Good Company, on Sorrow and Bliss

“Meg Mason is back with another introspective, heartfelt read.” – People