Scan barcode
michellekmartin's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't completely sure what to expect when I started this one but I could not stop thinking about it during the few days that I read it. The book takes place over the four days of memorial day weekend after Hugo Best, a late night talk show host, has wrapped up filming his last show. On a whim, he invites June Bloom, a writers assistant on his show, to his house in Connecticut. June, now jobless and having a crush on Hugo since childhood, accepts his invitation despite the fact that he is 30+ years her senior and has quite a reputation.
What follows is a quietly hilarious and, at times, sad character study of these two. June laments the difficulty of being a not quite successful twenty-something and Hugo struggles with saying goodbye to his show and growing older. They both grapple with what fame means to them - how much they want it, how it protects, how it isolates. Somers' writing is keenly observant and she does dialogue in a way that made me feel like the characters were real people I was listening to.
This one reminded me of a more real-life version of 30 rock, so I highly recommend for those who love comedy but also a real-life look at what it means to be famous, seek fame, and sometimes feel disappointed by it all.
What follows is a quietly hilarious and, at times, sad character study of these two. June laments the difficulty of being a not quite successful twenty-something and Hugo struggles with saying goodbye to his show and growing older. They both grapple with what fame means to them - how much they want it, how it protects, how it isolates. Somers' writing is keenly observant and she does dialogue in a way that made me feel like the characters were real people I was listening to.
This one reminded me of a more real-life version of 30 rock, so I highly recommend for those who love comedy but also a real-life look at what it means to be famous, seek fame, and sometimes feel disappointed by it all.
sci_mom's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. I don't get it. Seriously, I didn't understand the point of the whole story and it left me completely unsatisfied on just about every level. None of the characters were likable, which is okay, but they also weren't interesting or worth knowing for any reason. They were mostly self-absorbed, ridiculous caricatures of the character roles they were portraying and even they didn't take themselves seriously. And then it ends.
nglofile's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. I had been thinking of this in higher terms until the last twenty-five pages or so, and I'm not certain how much that turn tarnishes my overall experience and assessment. It's...complicated.
A junior staff writer on a sunsetting late night show encounters the legendary host after the wrap party, and she is stunned when he invites her to join him at his Connecticut home for the holiday weekend. Though Hugo Best is more than twice her age, he is a charismatic comic she's admired most of her life - first as viewer and then as employee - and she's both curious and expectant that something good might come from this opportunity. Given the power dynamic at play, as well as workplace culture and his personal past, this is problematic, but she herself chooses to go. At 29, June is not an ingenue, but does she see as clearly as she believes she does?
The writing is smart and thought-provoking, juggling wry satire with extremes of humor and despondency. Most everything is revealed in seemingly innocuous and meandering conversations, which evokes a less-romantic version of the Before Sunrise trilogy. This was a strength. Also, June's interactions with Hugo's world (both property and people) had tinges of Nick Carraway at Gatsby's- admiring yet conflicted - and that, too, was a deft pull.
The extent to which the entire weekend is transactional, and how that changes at different points in the story, is something both characters and readers need to work out. There is telegraphing that some of the personalities or situations may be thinly-veiled references we'd all recognize, but there's texture beneath those assumptions as well. Provocative and discussion-worthy.
A junior staff writer on a sunsetting late night show encounters the legendary host after the wrap party, and she is stunned when he invites her to join him at his Connecticut home for the holiday weekend. Though Hugo Best is more than twice her age, he is a charismatic comic she's admired most of her life - first as viewer and then as employee - and she's both curious and expectant that something good might come from this opportunity. Given the power dynamic at play, as well as workplace culture and his personal past, this is problematic, but she herself chooses to go. At 29, June is not an ingenue, but does she see as clearly as she believes she does?
The writing is smart and thought-provoking, juggling wry satire with extremes of humor and despondency. Most everything is revealed in seemingly innocuous and meandering conversations, which evokes a less-romantic version of the Before Sunrise trilogy. This was a strength. Also, June's interactions with Hugo's world (both property and people) had tinges of Nick Carraway at Gatsby's- admiring yet conflicted - and that, too, was a deft pull.
The extent to which the entire weekend is transactional, and how that changes at different points in the story, is something both characters and readers need to work out. There is telegraphing that some of the personalities or situations may be thinly-veiled references we'd all recognize, but there's texture beneath those assumptions as well. Provocative and discussion-worthy.
aetataureate's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the main character is so weird and awful. she has no driving motivations, and she thinks everything everyone around her does is hilarious in a mean ironic way. a boring person to spend time with
sanmeow's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
literally everything about this book is flat. i have nothing to say about it, which is kinda disappointing because i do like talking about my thoughts. but there are no thoughts right now. a book being this boring is just about the worst offense for me with literature. also the fact that it's supposed to be comedy but really isn't funny.
rvlgonzalez's review against another edition
4.0
There isn’t a ton in this book that couldn’t be found elsewhere, but I think it’s well written and funny. It treats everything with about the right level of sympathy/antipathy and the characters are likable enough that you are happy to read about them, but not so likable that the book seems to argue for downplaying their faults.
02/23 - 2nd read: mostly haven't changed my position, I might add some mediating words -- "well written enough", "funny enough." It's a fine use of time, imo. I re-read after following Erin Sommers on twitter. She's pretty mean and caustic in a fun way, I like her and you can see her in this book, though a bit less edged, which is good because I'm not sure I would have liked it as much.
02/23 - 2nd read: mostly haven't changed my position, I might add some mediating words -- "well written enough", "funny enough." It's a fine use of time, imo. I re-read after following Erin Sommers on twitter. She's pretty mean and caustic in a fun way, I like her and you can see her in this book, though a bit less edged, which is good because I'm not sure I would have liked it as much.
katewutz's review against another edition
3.0
The blurbs on the back call it hilarious, but calling this book “hilarious” is like calling Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine “a quirky romp”—it’s a bleak meditation on fame and the hopelessness of a career in the arts. There are some one-liners, but they come off as gallows humor, laughing in the face of nihilism. Nothing matters, everyone dies, fame won’t save you and neither will proximity to fame.
However, I’d absolutely read Erin Somers’ next book. She nailed the characters of June and Spencer, nailed what it feels like to suspect that you’re not that good at the thing you’re passionate about, nailed the feeling of being nearly 30 and feeling like you’re running out of time to do something that matters.
This book wasn’t what I expected, that’s all. The publisher seems to be selling it as a beach read, and maybe it is, but if you want a truly fun read, this might not be for you.
However, I’d absolutely read Erin Somers’ next book. She nailed the characters of June and Spencer, nailed what it feels like to suspect that you’re not that good at the thing you’re passionate about, nailed the feeling of being nearly 30 and feeling like you’re running out of time to do something that matters.
This book wasn’t what I expected, that’s all. The publisher seems to be selling it as a beach read, and maybe it is, but if you want a truly fun read, this might not be for you.
elevent11's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
lubleu's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0