Sophie, Standing There

So smart, so funny, so moving – Mason has done it again – this time using behind the scenes of a literary festival to reveal the complexity of loneliness and how one woman attempts to dig herself out. I absolutely loved it * Bonnie Garmus, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY *
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, author of TOM LAKE and THE DUTCH HOUSE *
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, 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, author of SANDWICH and WRECK *
Heartwarming, tender and so funny, Sophie, Standing There is a wonderful, bittersweet story of what it means to be truly, achingly lonely. I loved it * Gillian Anderson *
I feel like I know Meg Mason’s characters; they are relatable enough to be universal, but always have that edge or quirk that makes them unexpected - and completely compelling. Anyone who can make me sigh wistfully and snort with laughter in the same paragraph has my literary loyalty for life * Jojo Moyes, author of ME BEFORE YOU *
A funny, poignant, quirky look at the entrancing nature of a parasocial relationship. I love Meg Mason’s sharpness and humour, she is the queen of the pithy one liner that stops you in your tracks * Emma Gannon, author of OLIVE and TABLE FOR ONE *
Truly inspired and original * Esther Freud, author of MY SISTER AND OTHER LOVERS *
It's raw, it's massively sad; it's hilariously funny and so epigrammatic that after writing down the novel’s pithily astute phrases, I realised I was almost writing out the whole book * Barbara Trapido, author of BROTHER OF THE MORE FAMOUS JACK *
Sophie, Standing There explores the layers of longing that mirror the deep, quiet ache of a life spent searching for a home that always feels just out of reach — a displacement where the only constant is the act of looking itself * The Telegraph *
So beautifully written and Sophie’s unexquisite world is described so exquisitely. I absolutely lived and breathed Sophie. Such a tender, funny, sad, moving, complicated, painful and yet hopeful book * Georgia Pritchett, author of MY MESS IS A BIT OF A LIFE *
A witty story of infatuation set in the literary world ... Mason is brilliant -- Sam Leith * Guardian *
Meg Mason is back with another introspective, heartfelt read * People *
From the bestselling author of publishing sensation Sorrow and Bliss, comes this beautiful novel of love, loss and loneliness that is brimming with heart and humour and one of the finest drawn characters in fiction * Harper's Bazaar *
From the author of runaway hit Sorrow & Bliss comes a story following Sophie Pattison whose life is full of love and meaning, apart from when it’s achingly lonely. A candid exploration of where and how we seek connection and what we’re really looking for when we search for love. Meg Mason is masterful when it comes to combining emotionally packed characters and story arcs with moments of pure hilarity * Elle *
I found myself unable to put this book down, fascinated not only by Sophie and her extremely relatable feelings and experiences, but by Mason's exquisitely intimate storytelling … Meg Mason has created a novel that perfectly captures not a sad girl, but a woman moving through huge changes in a modern world * Red Magazine *
A raw account of a woman on the brink … and a deeply relatable, intimate read * Good Housekeeping *
This witty novel is a smart, metatextual affair, with thoughts on “sad girl fiction” and plenty of fun author cameos. (Although I have met George Saunders and I swear he’s too sweet to get stroppy about his microphone) -- Sian Cain * Guardian *
A funny, bittersweet story about solitude and connection * i Paper *
Meg Mason brings her signature warmth and wit to a story set in the literary world -- Erica Wagner * Harper's Bazaar *