... a thoroughly modern tale of the search for adulthood ... Confident and insightful, Somers’ book is, in short, an admonition to be careful what you wish for ... Somers has written her protagonist with a sharp eye for the type of ennui endemic to a swath of the millennial generation ... looks at dissatisfaction and loneliness, and how money and fame do not necessarily stave off those uncomfortable feelings. It’s also a cynically funny look at the lies people tell to themselves or each other, whether it’s to further one’s career, seduce someone, or even just get out of bed on gray mornings. Somers’ deft handling of the juxtaposition between self-defeating pessimism and the heartfelt need for human connection would be impressive for any established author; for a debut, it’s a tantalizing promise of incisive works to come.
... taut and incisive ... a tender, if occasionally joyless, portrait of bizarro-world comedy writers who wish everyone would knock it off with all the joking around already ... Somers is clear — exquisitely, wrenchingly so — when articulating Bloom’s lifelong fixation on Best...
With Hugo Best, Somers deftly teases out the muddled and sometimes inappropriate relationship men like him have with fame ... Somers does a great job balancing June's competing feelings ... Hugo is never overly predatory (the book would be trite if that were the case), but it's clear his behavior is, at best, not great ... Somers shines when depicting the little moments between the two, which are funny and poignant ... Somers knows exactly when both the laugh lines and the cringes should hit ... Stay Up with Hugo Best hilariously skewers and celebrates the world of late-night shows and comedy.
Somers’ debut is full of insider details on the world of late-night television—Hugo feels modeled on David Letterman—and a timely comment on sex and power in the entertainment industry. Though not a comedy per se, there are some great laugh-out-loud moments and one-liners, and the pace is steady throughout. Suggest this book to readers who enjoy fiction with a strong sense of misanthropy, and who like their unlikable characters well drawn.
... compelling ... Books with this kind of pacing often invite reading in one fell swoop...Still, I was surprised by just how much Stay Up With Hugo Best sucked me in for the ride as it chronicled a complicated #MeToo situation between a young comic and the older, David Letterman-like former boss she once idolized ... a story of sex, celebrity and power that feels fresh and unpredictable ... I found the whole book to be funny and relevant but also sad — and over too soon.
On the surface, Somers' debut is light and breezy, but the narrative is deft, controlled, and deadly smart. She mines depths out of Hollywood's propensity to look the other way when beloved men behave badly without a hint of preachiness. Instead, she's interested in complicity ... What could be a straightforward novel about a young woman and an older man taking mutual advantage of one another is instead a brilliant study in how rarely we seize opportunities to grow and change for the better—especially if we're lucky enough to get more than one. An outstanding comedic debut.
...[a] witty, melancholy debut ... 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.
