SOPHIE, STANDING THERE

A woman’s life changes when she meets her famous-author idol. Or does it?

When 37-year-old Sophie Pattison finally meets superstar novelist Lilac Dunne, she’s already in love, having read and reread Dunne’s work as comfort through a divorce and a move from her marital home to her ex-husband Paul’s rundown bachelor flat, where he allows her to live for a “peppercorn rent.” Sophie, who at least loves her job as a tech person for a prominent literary festival in London, has allowed her life to shrink to the point where her meals consist of hummus on rice cakes eaten over the sink. “When a tech said [of an author], ‘sincerely despise’ or ‘promise you’s an asshole,’ Sophie, a massive reader, knew it was because the author had made them feel even more invisible than usual.” Then, in the midst of an overly slapstick festival mishap involving Lilac, Sophie winds up at dinner with the author—then, on another day, visiting the flat where Lilac is staying. At last readers learn what’s holding Sophie back—and it’s so much more interesting than the long lead-up. Mason also falters in creating fully drawn characters. For example, Sophie’s brother, Laurie, plays an important role in his sister’s life, but apart from having a slightly bossy wife, he seems quite vague. Not so the authors, real-life and fictional, who populate these pages. Mick Herron steps on a bookseller’s foot, Elizabeth Strout gets Covid-19, and a well-known memoirist wears a beret. Mason has clearly been taking notes during events she’s participated in, and Lilac’s statements ring true: “‘You can’t have good sex with a bad writer,’ Lilac said, ‘and he is a terrible writer.’” When she at last gives Sophie some tough advice, we believe her capable of it, so sparkling is the sliver of ice in her writer’s heart. This won’t be New Zealander Mason’s best book, but that’s okay—she’ll write others to contend for that title.

Not for everyone, but perfect for Sally Rooney and Naoise Dolan fans who revel in moments of sorrow and bliss.