June, in need of a job and money, but harboring the remains of a childhood crush on the charming older comedian and former role model, is confident she can handle herself. “Incisive, funny, and tinged with melancholy, this timely novel follows two lost but clever souls desperate for connection” ( Entertainment Weekly). When June Bloom, an assistant on the late-night comedy show, Stay Up with Hugo Best, runs into Hugo himself at an open mic following his unexpected retirement, she finds herself fielding a surprising invitation: Hugo asks June to come to his mansion in Greenwich for the long Memorial Day weekend. This is the story of their four days together, a “zippy…magnificent…devilishly fun ride” ( Vogue). Hugo Best is a beloved late-night TV icon and notorious womanizer who invites her to his mansion for Memorial Day weekend. June Bloom is twenty-nine, broke, and an aspiring comedy writer.

Even so, as the weekend unfolds and the enigmatic Hugo gradually reveals himself, their dynamic proves to be much more complicated and less predictable than she expected.Īt once hilarious and poignant, brilliantly incisive, and terrifically propulsive, Stay Up with Hugo Best is an incredibly timely exploration of sexual politics in the #MeToo age and the unforgettable story of one young woman’s poignant stumbling into adulthood.“Incisive, funny, and tinged with melancholy, the timely novel follows two lost but clever souls desperate for connection.” -Entertainment Weekly The exact terms of the visit are never spelled out, but June is realistic and clear-eyed enough to guess. June, in need of a job and money, confident she can handle herself, but secretly harboring the remains of a childhood crush on the charming older comedian and former role model, accepts. Nor for the invitation that swiftly follows: Hugo asks June to come to his mansion in Greenwich for the long Memorial Day weekend.

What she’s not prepared for is a run-in with Hugo at that dive bar. After he unexpectedly retires and a party is held for his now-unemployed staff, June ends up at a dive bar for an open-mic night and prepares for the sad return to the anonymous comedian lifestyle. Hugo Best is in his 60s, a beloved icon of TV and humor, and a notorious womanizer. June Bloom is a broke, cynical 29-year-old writers’ assistant on the late-night comedy show Stay Up with Hugo Best.

An incredibly timely, terrifically witty, and moving debut about a young writers’ assistant on a late-night comedy show and what transpires when she accepts an invitation from its enigmatic host to spend a long weekend at his mansion in Connecticut.

Stay Up with Hugo Best by Erin Somers