I wasn’t sure Tom Perrotta‘s Mrs. Fletcher was a novel that would speak to me and so I discontinued reading it.  I may also discontinue watching the HBO TV series, Mrs. Fletcher—Perrotta-created—if I find it a letdown.  Judging from the first, late-October episode, it might not be.

Director Nicole Holofcener and scenarist Perrotta do crisp, bright work here, and the 30-minute episode is very effective at depicting something in particular:  a teen boy (Jackson White) who, because he is callow, fails to appreciate the mother (Kathryn Hahn) who helps him move into his college dorm room.  Hahn, as Mrs. Fletcher, knows how to do uneasiness and discomfort, and is never unsubtle.  I want to see more of her.  I hope Perrotta maintains his smarts.