Stay Up with Hugo Best

Somers’s witty, melancholy debut takes place entirely over a long Memorial Day weekend. June Bloom, 29 and vaguely dissatisfied with her life, has been working as a writers’ assistant for a late-night talk show called Stay Up with Hugo Best. After being on-air for decades, the show has recently ceased production. Following a party for those involved with the show, 65-year-old host Hugo invites June to his estate in Connecticut for the weekend. Hesitant but intrigued, and against the advice of her best friend Audrey, June drifts along with the comic she has idolized for years. While bracing herself for Hugo to make a move, she finds herself queasily attracted to his teenage son, Spencer, home from prep school for the weekend. She eats pizza with Hugo and drives around with him in one of his collection of cars, looks on from the sidelines as he squabbles with his manager, and watches him prepare for an unsuccessful pool party. Somers sidesteps the predictable path the reader might expect this weekend to take, instead meandering into subtle, surprising territory. Within the strict temporal boundaries she has set herself, Somers depicts two equally lost souls unable to connect on a deep level. This is a winning debut. [em](Apr.) [/em]