Sophie, Standing There

by Meg Mason

From the award-winning, bestselling author of Sorrow and Bliss comes an achingly tender, poignant, funny and bittersweet new novel

'So smart, so funny, so moving. I absolutely loved it' Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

'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, bestselling author of Tom Lake and The Dutch House
_____

Sophie Pattison is a lovely person – warm, kind, relentlessly positive. She's cherished by her brother Laurie, adored by her best friend Emma and valued by her colleagues. Sometimes, it's true, one day in her life can feel like the entire month of January. It's also true she can go an entire day without speaking. But she's fine really. She spends her time alone reading, finding comfort in the pages of the books she devours.

Until one day she stumbles upon an author she hasn't read in years. Her books, interviews and podcasts soon become a lifeline; every word is a solace, company she hasn't felt in so long. It's almost like love.

A lot like love. And Sophie would love to meet the author, although she never will obviously. In a way, thank goodness, because that would change everything. Sophie's entire life. Wouldn't it?

Hilariously candid and raw, Sophie, Standing There is a bittersweet story of love, loneliness and finding connection in the most unlikely of places.
_____

'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... Dazzling' Catherine Newman, bestselling author of Wreck and Sandwich

'I loved Sophie, and I love Meg Mason's brain and the strange, wonderful, funny stories she gives us' Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Hello, Beautiful and Dear Edward

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Books About Books

Kindle Edition

Expected publication August 27, 2026

About the author

Meg Mason began her career at the Financial Times and The Times of London. Her work has since appeared in The Sunday Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sunday Telegraph. She has written humour for The New Yorker and Sunday STYLE, was a GQ columnist for five years and a regular contributor to Vogue, marie claire, and ELLE.

Her first book Say It Again in a Nice Voice (HarperCollins), a memoir of early motherhood, was published in 2012. Her novel You Be Mother (HarperCollins) followed in 2017. She lives in Sydney.

Reviews

[Marcus (Lit_Laugh_Luv)]

Is this a safe space to admit I hate this cover? Seated for a new Meg Mason release, regardless!

Substack | Bookstagram | BookTok | BookTube | Bookshop.org Store | Libro.fm Bonus Offer

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this one. But it’s not out till august 😱.

[Chelsea Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*

Sophie, Standing There follows Sophie Pattison who is a kind person who will help anyone out. She has a good relationship with her brother and a best friend who wants to spend more time with her. Sophie is a little lonely after her divorce and the time can pass slowly on her own. She is a big reader though and finds comfort in her books. One day she stumbles upon an author she hasn’t read in a long time. Sophie latches onto this author by re reading all the author’s books and watching interviews and podcasts of the author. In a way Sophie feels like she is in love with the author and would like to meet them. If she did meet the author, Sophie feels like it could change her whole life.

At first I wasn’t too sure about this book but the further I got into this, the more I came to understand Sophie. This book is focused on character over plot and Sophie is a nice person who has tried to do everything right but has ended up alone in her late thirties. It was easy to emphasise with Sophie and it made sense why she attached to the author. As this story is focused on Sophie, it is a little slow but I found it to be quite powerful. I think this is a good exploration of a parasocial relationship due to the way Sophie idealised the author, a person she didn’t know based on what she saw online and read. I will be recommending this book as I had a good time reading this. This book is also very bookish as Sophie works at book events, is a big reader and has friends at her local bookstore and I enjoyed that.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Sophie, Standing There’ is strange reading. A woman awkward, lonely and bereft, I found myself gradually warming to her and feeling sad that she had so little faith in herself.

Sophie is a freelance sound techie and general dogsbody, involved primarily in the smooth running of book festivals. She’s part of a team but they don’t mean much to her. Whilst most of the behind-the-scenes characters merge into a portrayal of twenty-something cheap labour, Sophie enjoys working with Fraser – but then he disappears. Apart from her recently married devoted brother, Laurie, and her friend, Emma, whom she can’t bear to see, Sophie feels as if she has no one. Separation from her really unpleasant husband, Paul, has reinforced her feelings that she is worthless. Why would anyone want to be friends with her?

So, Sophie falls in love with an author. She reads her obsessively; she listens to her podcasts and she has internal conversations with her. Knowing that this is ridiculous, imagine her horror when she has to look after the author at a festival. Will this woman prove herself to be as wonderful as Sophie’s fantasy?

‘Sophie, Standing There’ falls down a little when compared to Mason’s first novel, ‘Sorrow and Bliss’; there’s a little too much of Sophie alone in her vile flat. However, there is some very sensitively wrought depiction of life in a sect and the ongoing ramifications of such an experience. And I loved the ending – beautifully composed and perfectly accomplished.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really gets at the heart of what it's like to, however briefly, have insider access to someone famous whom you deeply (and perhaps unhealthily) admire. I've had much less dramatic experiences in that vein, and I really felt that tension in Sophie. It's also just simply a successful work of ~women's fiction~, as much as I wish we had another name for the genre that concerns itself with the inner life of a woman at a crossroads, and I found myself wishing to just live inside Sophie's head and life for however long I could.

[ireadyouread · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was ready for the new Meg Mason and boy did it not disappoint. She always writes the most relatable characters whether you’ve been through the same situations or not. Sophie is a woman that hasn’t quite got all her life sorted. Well she thought she did but then the chaos begins. I loved how this story took infatuation with a famous person and how it has the possibility to completely change your life in more ways than one. There is so much that was encapsulated within this book that I loved. Next one please!

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m obsessed with this book and with Sophie! I relate to her so much not just because of her love of books but because she’s a loner like me. I enjoyed how this book has a likeable character with a great plot and ties everything into the literary world. It shows how relationships can be complex just like life itself. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jo Rawlins · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars.

Intriguing and a bit strange. Not as good as Sorrow and Bliss which I really enjoyed.

Well-written but with a strange albeit original plot. It just fell a bit flat for me. I didn't much care for the characters.

Ultimately, it felt like a creative writing experiment.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

[Taylor - taylorsreadsandreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a deeply thoughtful and rare look into how it feels to love something (albeit parasocially) in such a messy and all-consuming way as a distraction from grief.I absolutely adored this. It is on my list of “soul books”

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.52.5 ⭐

This one didn't work for me.
I don't know if my expectations were too high, or it was just the wrong book, but I was a bit bored of Sophie in the first quarter of the book, and we never really recovered from that.

Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy.

[Remi]

i feel that this book would be like me having a conversation with solitude.

*thank you to Harper for the ARC*

[Letho]

screaming crying throwing up i'm so excited

[Lavelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

completely not what I expected, and exactly what I needed. Meg Mason I love you forever