Named one of 2019's most anticipated reads by Entertainment Weekly , a hilarious and witty joy of a novel about a family's insanely dramatic summer at their new island home ( Cosmopolitan ) in the Pacific Northwest.
The inimitable--some might say incorrigible--Frank Widdicombe is suffering from a deep depression.
Or so his wife, Carol, believes.
But Carol is convinced that their new island home--Willowbrook Manor on the Puget Sound--is just the thing to cheer him up.
And so begins a whirlwind summer as their house becomes the epicenter of multiple social dramas involving the family, their friends, and a host of new acquaintances.
The Widdicombes' son, Christopher, is mourning a heartbreak after a year abroad in Italy.
Their personal assistant, Michelle, begins a romance with preppy screenwriter Bradford, who also happens to be Frank's tennis partner.
Meanwhile, a local named Marvelous Matthews is hired to create a garden at the manor--and is elated to find Gracie Sloane, bewitching self-help author, in residence as well.
When this alternately bumbling and clever cast of characters comes together, they turn as frothy and bitter as a pot of freshly brewed dark-roast coffee, the kind that's always available on the Widdicombe's sideboard.
And the dialogue, oh how it singes and sears ( The Washington Post ).
A gleefully over-the-top satiric debut ( Kirkus Reviews ), Cheer Up, Mr.
Widdicombe is perfect for fans of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette? , Andrew Sean Greer's Less , and Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins.