Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason

 

I read first Meg Mason’s You be Mother, a deep, beautiful story about vulnerability, and optimism against the odds, after which I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Sorrow and Bliss, and then when I did I  thought I had found perfection in a book; but now I’ve found it again in Sophie Standing There!

Sophie is one of the most loveable protagonists I’ve found, ever. Meg Mason takes us, in stages, into Sophie’s background. Sophie’s life  has been shaped by her unusual childhood, her  close relationship with her brother, and her compassionate response to her brother-in-law, in relation to which her ex-husband’s behaviour is almost excusable, in light of their shared experiences, is my reluctant guess.

Sophie pours her love, in her mind, into Lilac, a movie star/turned author. This is a fascinating part of the story and, ultimately, although she doesn’t realise it, Sophie’s survival mechanism. Lilac actually sums Sophie up perfectly with her inscription:

I’ve never met anyone who tried so hard to be happy by being kind.

When I got to the end of  Sophie, Standing There, I felt overwhelmed by my emotions, in exactly the same way as I had been by Sorrow and Bliss. The word that keeps popping into my mind about all three of Meg Mason’s books that I’ve read is: exquisite.

Published by Harper Collins.