Super Host

By: Kate Russo

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

"Get ready to smile.... [A] sweet story and the perfect antidote to the chaos that’s been 2021." (the Skimm)

A deeply funny and shrewdly observed debut novel about being lost in the very place you know by heart.

Bennett Driscoll is a Turner Prize-nominated artist who was once a rising star. Now, at age 55, his wife has left him, he hasn't sold a painting in two years, and his gallery wants to stop selling his work, claiming they'll have more value retrospectively...when he's dead. So, left with a large West London home and no income, he's forced to move into his artist's studio in the back garden and list his house on the popular vacation rental site, AirBed.

A stranger now in his own home, with his daughter, Mia, off at art school, and any new relationships fizzling out at best, Bennett struggles to find purpose in his day-to-day. That all changes when three different guests - lonely American Alicia; tortured artist Emma; and cautiously optimistic divorcée Kirstie - unwittingly unlock the pieces of himself that have been lost to him for too long.

Warm, witty, and utterly humane, Super Host offers a captivating portrait of middle age, relationships, and what it truly means to take a new chance at life.

©2020 Kate Russo (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of:
The New York Times Book Review's 13 New Books to Watch For in February
Entertainment Weekly's Best New Books to Read in February  
Boston Magazine's 42 Books to Help You Get Through the Rest of Quarantine 
Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021
PureWow's 9 Books We Can't Wait to Read in February 

“Russo’s clever debut evokes a time when travel wasn’t so fraught and strangers could get close enough to learn something about themselves.” —The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“Here’s that rare thing: a wise, literary novel that is also funny as hell...the perfect antidote to this time of being shut in at home. Super Host gives me hope for the future, when we can all open our doors, and our hearts, once more.” —Jennifer Finney Boylan, Buzzfeed 

"Brimming with...pure affection." —The New York Times Book Review 

Super Host

I enjoyed this book. It is perfect reading during the pandemic. And me being a Super Host even made it more fun. Each character was so aware of their feelings. And because of that I could visualize all of them. Julie Whelan is such a wonderful reader. I’ve listened to other books that she has read and she makes the characters become so real. This easy to read book is delightful. Thanks Audible. Thank you for introducing me to this book. I’ve love to hear from this writer again.

What a nice surprise!

This book made the characters so charming and the story unforgettable-excellent narrator, Julia Whelan

When AN Avocado Is a Sign!

Good 2 for 1 credit. You must be in the mood to not be mad or you will miss the subtle British humor. If you have ever stayed abroad in an Air B n B, this will bring back good memories if you had a good time. If you are mad at the Covid outcome and being shut down for over a year, this may not do the trick. You must like short stories because as you know they can be tricky to understand as they generally do not spoon feed you the out come.
I am a newly minted fan of Ms Julie and in a very short time I have 45 of her reads due to every sale that has her narrations.
I started with Karen Robards series Ms Julia reads and her accent for our hero was wonderful. Her own book, My Year At Oxford was great. So far Delicious, The Red Hunter, Girl Underwater, Flat-Out-Love should be on your wish list.
Were my comments of help?

I ❤️ Julia Whelan! A charming British delight!

Julia Whelan’s British narrative talents made “Super Host” a delightful tale. I’m so happy Whelan introduced me to these new genres, as I’ve found many hours of enjoyable listens. As I search by narrator, I’ve found quite a collection of Whelan-narrated adventures plus more waiting in my wishlist. Author Kate Russo’s current offering follows the lives of some quirky, amusing and lovable characters as they vacation at a private London BB. Bringing us into the personal lives of guests, we are treated to a variety of eccentric visitors, along with owner Bennett Driscoll. Highly recommended. This is truly one of my favorites in my vast Audible library. Epic, I say!

👏✍🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟✍🏻👏

Art, life and love in London.

I thought it may be vignettes of different guests throughout the book, but was pleased the story evolved along with the main character.

Are we all, sometimes, feel like a driftwood

Are we all, sometimes, feel like a driftwood on the ocean of life.? I have been there several times, particularly in relationships. Not knowing what I want, hesitated, and lost the person that I thought I loved. Or, imagining better opportunities, compelled me to chase the clouds.

Ms. Russo with her writing touched many nerves. I could associate with the characters in her book. I could not wait to see what is next for each of them. Her one liners made me chuckle.

Ms. Whelan did a fantastic job narrating the book with different accents and emotions. Her narrations brought the characters to life for me.

Highly recommend it.

hilarious

I listened to Kate Russo’s debut novel, “Super Host”. I wanted an easy story that makes me giggle. I loved it, with a couple of exceptions, and look forward to more work from her.

Russo has a talent for hilarious banter and inner musings. She uses her main character, Bennett Driscoll, a 50 something has-been artist, who is fumbling along in an attempt to find relevance. His marriage and his career have gone south, and he is bordering on desperation, especially with regard to money. He decides to put his West London home on the rental site, AirBed. He is classified as a Super Host because of his ratings. As the novel opens, he spends an inordinate amount of time trying to keep his high status, hence his income.

The first renter is a young woman from New York. Her story is the sad, and it ended very oddly (one of my complaints). The next lodger is an American couple. The husband leaves the wife to attend to family in the US, and the wife, Emma, has some odd mental health “issues”. She’s an artist herself, with some serious OCD. There is a bit about an avocado, and how it should be laying in the fruit bowl which is funnier than I make it sound. Emma provides a lot of humor and her part in the novel, I loved. Yet, again, her story ended oddly.

While Emma is occupying his home, Bennett meets a bartender who he begins a romantic relationship. This is amusing because she’s attractive, and much younger than he is. Of course, he notices his love handles and all his elderly flaws. Russo does a fantastic job with Bennett’s inner dialogue and insecurities. One can’t help but root for poor, hapless Bennett.

After Emma leaves, the last lodger in the story is Kirstie, who is a British woman around his age who is trying to rebuild her life after a public divorce. While Kirstie is there, Bennett is trying to find out how his bartender girlfriend fits into his life.

So the story is about Bennett and his midlife struggles along with redefining himself. So many stories about the new beginnings at midlife generally center around women, but Russo has found a voice in Bennett. He is funny, self-deprecating, with good intentions. It’s fun to get inside a man’s head when he feels lacking.

Maybe Russo wanted this to be in vignette form of three stories with one common thread. I enjoyed it and recommend it as a fun romp.

Disappointing

The story was promising at the start, but I lost interest a third of the way in. The main character is an unlikable, self absorbed, pervert. There was too much crass language throughout.

The narrator carries the story

I was so excited to add this to my library. However, once I started to listen, I was disappointed. Not with the narration. Julia Whalen once again brings characters to life in a way that makes you feel like they are right there with you. I was disappointed in the story it's self. I found the situations to be contrived and the connection between the characters challenging. I was expecting something different, something that would take me away, and transport me, however, this novel didn't do that. It left me feeling rather sad and disappointed.

Super Bad!!!

The fact that the author could not come up with anything smarter than Airbed to sub for AirB&B should've indicated their lack of imagination. But I fell for that promise of British humor (which was 100% lacking in this book). The narrative/plot line between the three guests is jarringly abrupt. The author glorifies the main character's selfish need to explore all his options before committing to someone (especially someone in her condition). It's one thing to weigh your options - but to call it love while doing so is stupidly ignorant. But if done knowingly then extremely manipulative. The story is extremely contrived (neither the guests nor the host takes away anything from their interactions), the language is unbelievably juvenile and to say I was disappointed would be a colossal understatement.