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Loneliness & Company
A timely, beautifully observed debut novel set in near future New York about a young woman who finds herself tangled in a secret government project combating loneliness.
Lee’s life is perfectly mapped out. A top student and professor favorite, everyone expects her to land one of the coveted roles at a Big Five corporation. So when, upon graduating, Lee finds herself at a company no one’s heard of in the dead city of New York instead, her goals are completely upended.
In this new role, Lee’s task is to gather research to train an AI how to be a friend. She begins online and by studying the social circle of her outgoing roommate Veronika. But when it’s revealed that the company is part of a classified mission to solve loneliness—an emotion erased from society’s lexicon decades ago— Lee's determination to prove herself kicks into overdrive and she starts chasing bolder experiences for the AI.
How far will Lee go? As loneliness continues to spread, she must decide what she’s willing to give up for success and, along the way, learn what it means to be a true friend.
Loneliness & Company is an enchanting, gorgeously written novel about finding meaning and connection in a world beset by isolation.
Lee’s life is perfectly mapped out. A top student and professor favorite, everyone expects her to land one of the coveted roles at a Big Five corporation. So when, upon graduating, Lee finds herself at a company no one’s heard of in the dead city of New York instead, her goals are completely upended.
In this new role, Lee’s task is to gather research to train an AI how to be a friend. She begins online and by studying the social circle of her outgoing roommate Veronika. But when it’s revealed that the company is part of a classified mission to solve loneliness—an emotion erased from society’s lexicon decades ago— Lee's determination to prove herself kicks into overdrive and she starts chasing bolder experiences for the AI.
How far will Lee go? As loneliness continues to spread, she must decide what she’s willing to give up for success and, along the way, learn what it means to be a true friend.
Loneliness & Company is an enchanting, gorgeously written novel about finding meaning and connection in a world beset by isolation.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2024
About the author
Charlee Dyroff
1 book68 followersCharlee Dyroff is a writer from Boulder, Colorado. Her work has appeared in Guernica, Slate, Lapham’s Quarterly, the Southwest Review, and more. One of her essays was selected for The Best American Food Writing of 2019. Her debut novel, LONELINESS & COMPANY, will be published in 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
June 12, 2024
they already found the cure for loneliness. it's called "Reading + An Active Imagination"
...anyway.
like many things, this had a lot of great ideas and fell flat on the execution. it never really works for me when the first 200+ pages of a book are exposition and then the climax hits with 40 pages to go, and this was left feeling sloppy and rushed. this book felt like it had the concept it wanted, and the ending it knew it wanted to get to, and then it just kind of rambled in between.
reading the epilogue and finding our protagonist transformed, with none of the development it would have taken to get there, felt frustrating. also i just don't know why this book felt like it needed a love triangle, or why the roommate had to be constantly eating and made fun of for that, or (and maybe it's just me) why this had to do that sci-fi thing where you just capitalize common phrases to indicate they have taken on some sort of dystopian brand.
oh well.
bottom line: this was really promising, and i really enjoyed moments of it, but its last page and its middle pages threw me off.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
...anyway.
like many things, this had a lot of great ideas and fell flat on the execution. it never really works for me when the first 200+ pages of a book are exposition and then the climax hits with 40 pages to go, and this was left feeling sloppy and rushed. this book felt like it had the concept it wanted, and the ending it knew it wanted to get to, and then it just kind of rambled in between.
reading the epilogue and finding our protagonist transformed, with none of the development it would have taken to get there, felt frustrating. also i just don't know why this book felt like it needed a love triangle, or why the roommate had to be constantly eating and made fun of for that, or (and maybe it's just me) why this had to do that sci-fi thing where you just capitalize common phrases to indicate they have taken on some sort of dystopian brand.
oh well.
bottom line: this was really promising, and i really enjoyed moments of it, but its last page and its middle pages threw me off.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
June 2, 2024
there is a soft tenderness to this book and raw sense of calm and purpose that I found compelling and relatable. the way relationships are explored - both with one’s self, with friends, and romantically all felt purposeful and exciting to read. and the amount we start to rely on our online friends and then the shock of meeting them for the first time was so real for this early-to-mid 2000s tumblr era girly
May 4, 2024
4.5/5 - AI speculative fiction is becoming more and more popular and this was the first one that I absolutely loved. This book has so much depth to it. It’s tender and relatable and the speculative aspects were well thought out and intriguing. I was surprised at how attached I grew to the characters, and absolutely loved where the plot took me.
April 22, 2024
4.25 / A very dear novel about a type-A woman living in a future world who is assigned to do research in order to build an AI friend to solve the problem of loneliness (a foreign concept in this society). Lee must research topics such as "food," "love," and "friendship" by way of experience, and she begins to question if she understands them herself. I did feel a bit unsettled in the world, there were both very familiar and futuristic elements and I could've used more grounding.
May 13, 2024
Cool concept I guess but the whole world just wasn’t built enough for me to really believe in it.
I found myself skimming paragraphs because the inner monologue of the main character Lee was discussing something she had already observed and commented on in the previous paragraph.
Why did Janet have random chapters from her POV woven in? It didn’t add anything to the story except the fact that other people in this world besides Lee feel loneliness, which of course they do, because we are all human.
The whole moral of the story is AI = bad or new technology = bad. Pretty cold take.
They also make NYC a dystopian abandoned city because flooding apparently made all the big companies flee, but the author runs around the city and uses the subway just fine? Why would the flooding problem just go away?
Also, Lee is picked to work on the project because she doesn’t have loneliness. Doesn’t everyone have loneliness in their life that ebbs and flows? Isn’t that the whole point of the book? So how would Lee have a baseline of 0% loneliness?
Does this make sense? Idk. I thought the narrative was okay and occasionally I liked the authors observations. It was a quick read but just wasn’t it for me.
I found myself skimming paragraphs because the inner monologue of the main character Lee was discussing something she had already observed and commented on in the previous paragraph.
Why did Janet have random chapters from her POV woven in? It didn’t add anything to the story except the fact that other people in this world besides Lee feel loneliness, which of course they do, because we are all human.
The whole moral of the story is AI = bad or new technology = bad. Pretty cold take.
They also make NYC a dystopian abandoned city because flooding apparently made all the big companies flee, but the author runs around the city and uses the subway just fine? Why would the flooding problem just go away?
Also, Lee is picked to work on the project because she doesn’t have loneliness. Doesn’t everyone have loneliness in their life that ebbs and flows? Isn’t that the whole point of the book? So how would Lee have a baseline of 0% loneliness?
Does this make sense? Idk. I thought the narrative was okay and occasionally I liked the authors observations. It was a quick read but just wasn’t it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2024
“It’s an interesting theory, really. If you don’t name something, can you identify it? If you never learn an emotion, can you feel it?”
I initially chose this debut book because it sounded unique in its speculative AI premise. While it does fall into that category, I’d be tempted to classify it as a modern literary fiction coming-of-age story. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised at how much depth and relatability I found in its pages!
Throughout the book, the author explores what it means to be alive in a tech-driven world. We dive into the importance of connection, the causes of loneliness, and several big “what ifs” when it comes to AI and social-emotional well-being.
I think that some readers may question how detached and almost clinical the protagonist sounds through much of the book, but I feel that this voice was perfect for who the character was. While the plots were completely different, this book gave me Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind (another 5 star book for me) vibes. Both books have protagonists who aren’t always the most easy to get along with, who make decisions you probably wouldn’t make, and yet you hope for the best as they fumble through experiences they don’t feel comfortable with for the sake of their company’s goals. Both books also have characters who battle loneliness and anxiety, speculative worlds where corporations profit off people and the people end up suffering, and social commentary on the state of society and technology.
The book is very quotable, and I found myself highlighting many sections where characters reflect on their experiences and what they mean in the scope of human existence and connection.
“I was here. The same phrase I keep seeing. I think about the word “here.” It’s another one of those slippery concepts. Iridescent, shape-shifting, like loneliness.”
This is definitely a book I’ll be pondering for some time, and I’m so glad I read it! Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the advanced copy!
April 26, 2024
Fell a little flat for me. I liked the concept but wanted to learn more about the world. Didn’t really care for the protagonist. Would pick up more by this author in the future though!
Thank you to the publisher for sending me this!! I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me this!! I greatly appreciate it.
April 30, 2024
As a chronic intellectualizer who talks endlessly about how my dream job would be to just simply own a traveling library or a coffee shop but feels the call too deeply to do something “important” I resonated a little too strongly with Lee and then the end sucker punched me in the gut. The fact that this is a debut is wild and I can’t wait to see where this writer goes. Normally present tense gets on my nerves and sometimes it did here, but overall this was a lovely story with lovely characters and a VERY timely story to tell.
May 8, 2024
I really enjoyed the premise (and the execution!) of Loneliness & Company. In it, we meet Lee, who is used to being at the top of everything. She works hard, because she's been told her whole life that it's the key to everything. So when she finds herself getting a job not at one of the prestigious companies she'd hoped (and assumed) for, but some unknown entity, to say she's chagrined would be an understatement. But since she is always committed to hard work and getting the job done, she grudgingly accepts her position and jumps in. What is the job, you ask? Gathering data to develop an AI to help lonely folks. Only... no one has heard of "loneliness". It simply is not a concept people in this society know. Sure, it requires a bit of suspension of disbelief, but it is quite worth doing.
But... it is something they experience, even if they don't have a word for the feeling. And it is very interesting to watch Lee, who has never really considered her need for people and community, to discover that maybe life is better with friends. There is a bit of a mystery undertone too, and I think I might have expected a bit more from it? In fairness, I thought that Loneliness & Company had all kinds of dark, seedy secrets that it just.... didn't. I was too suspicious of the book, if that is a thing that is possible. I don't have any idea if the book wanted me to think this or if I made it all up, so go ahead and place the blame on me here.
What I did absolutely adore was Lee figuring out who she was, what she wanted from life, and that there is a whole big world out there that doesn't just involve working oneself to death. And the adventures she goes on during her journey were wonderfully entertaining! I thought the book's messages were strong, I really enjoyed the characters and story, and ended up being quite satisfied, even though it did not quite go in the direction I expected.
Bottom Line: Doesn't matter what we call a feeling, it can eat away at us regardless. This society is about to figure that out the hard way.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
But... it is something they experience, even if they don't have a word for the feeling. And it is very interesting to watch Lee, who has never really considered her need for people and community, to discover that maybe life is better with friends. There is a bit of a mystery undertone too, and I think I might have expected a bit more from it? In fairness, I thought that Loneliness & Company had all kinds of dark, seedy secrets that it just.... didn't. I was too suspicious of the book, if that is a thing that is possible. I don't have any idea if the book wanted me to think this or if I made it all up, so go ahead and place the blame on me here.
What I did absolutely adore was Lee figuring out who she was, what she wanted from life, and that there is a whole big world out there that doesn't just involve working oneself to death. And the adventures she goes on during her journey were wonderfully entertaining! I thought the book's messages were strong, I really enjoyed the characters and story, and ended up being quite satisfied, even though it did not quite go in the direction I expected.
Bottom Line: Doesn't matter what we call a feeling, it can eat away at us regardless. This society is about to figure that out the hard way.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
May 6, 2024
Thank you to Bloomsbury for an ARC of Loneliness & Company in exchange for an honest review.
Loneliness & Company occurs in the not-so-distant future. Lee has worked incredibly hard to secure one of the best jobs in the country, but when she finishes school, she is assigned to a small unknown company. She takes the chance, and begins working on a mysterious project, one in which an AI is created to cure loneliness, an emotion that simply doesn’t exist anymore. Lee collects data online, but then starts venturing out, and taking part in things she normally wouldn’t all for the sake of research.
It is hard to believe this is a debut. Lee and Janet, and all the other characters jumped off the page. They felt totally real, and I was drawn to them all for different reasons. Lee and Veronika were my favourites, and I loved their banter and personalities.
This novel truly excelled at highlighting some major issues that we see every day. Our obsession with technologies and communicating at a distance is making the world a lonelier place. I even feel a little guilty posting a comment like this to Bookstagram, as it fits into this concept a little too well for my liking. It also showcased how obsessed we are with work and productivity and how easily it can take over social and family life.
Witnessing Lee’s spiral as her research intensifies elicits an emotional reaction. And a relatable one. I think most people can agree that they have done desperate things to fit in and find themselves.
I loved this book, and I think it’s an important one to read but still manages to fit into that beach read category!
Loneliness & Company is available May 07, 2024!!
Loneliness & Company occurs in the not-so-distant future. Lee has worked incredibly hard to secure one of the best jobs in the country, but when she finishes school, she is assigned to a small unknown company. She takes the chance, and begins working on a mysterious project, one in which an AI is created to cure loneliness, an emotion that simply doesn’t exist anymore. Lee collects data online, but then starts venturing out, and taking part in things she normally wouldn’t all for the sake of research.
It is hard to believe this is a debut. Lee and Janet, and all the other characters jumped off the page. They felt totally real, and I was drawn to them all for different reasons. Lee and Veronika were my favourites, and I loved their banter and personalities.
This novel truly excelled at highlighting some major issues that we see every day. Our obsession with technologies and communicating at a distance is making the world a lonelier place. I even feel a little guilty posting a comment like this to Bookstagram, as it fits into this concept a little too well for my liking. It also showcased how obsessed we are with work and productivity and how easily it can take over social and family life.
Witnessing Lee’s spiral as her research intensifies elicits an emotional reaction. And a relatable one. I think most people can agree that they have done desperate things to fit in and find themselves.
I loved this book, and I think it’s an important one to read but still manages to fit into that beach read category!
Loneliness & Company is available May 07, 2024!!
May 28, 2024
AI has always freaked me out a little bit, but I’ve been enjoying the speculative fiction genre lately and was excited to give Loneliness & Company a read! I think I was expecting this book to be waaaay darker than it actually was, but still enjoyed it nonetheless! The last 1/3 especially flew by.
June 30, 2024
In a future U.S., the Government forms a number of competing project groups tasked with solving Loneliness by creating a functional AI friend.
Lee, a strange, intelligent young woman is selected to participate. Lee has been so obsessed with becoming a data/tech prodigy that she’s missed living; she lacks social skills, knowledge, and even awareness that she is lonely. That is why she’s selected, as much as for her brilliance. She has co-workers she refers to as cat-eyes, lanky guy, and wire rims, seeming not knowing their names.
The project gathers immense data on human interaction in the attempt to create this AI. Lee’s weirdness makes her a central figure in the data collection. She’s tasked with having as much human interaction as possible to help develop Vicky, the AI friend.
You can guess how this turns out. This novel isn’t bad, but the message is maybe too obvious.
Lee, a strange, intelligent young woman is selected to participate. Lee has been so obsessed with becoming a data/tech prodigy that she’s missed living; she lacks social skills, knowledge, and even awareness that she is lonely. That is why she’s selected, as much as for her brilliance. She has co-workers she refers to as cat-eyes, lanky guy, and wire rims, seeming not knowing their names.
The project gathers immense data on human interaction in the attempt to create this AI. Lee’s weirdness makes her a central figure in the data collection. She’s tasked with having as much human interaction as possible to help develop Vicky, the AI friend.
You can guess how this turns out. This novel isn’t bad, but the message is maybe too obvious.
July 21, 2024
For context, I read mostly non-fiction, and when I read fiction I am looking for an entertaining and gently thought-provoking story. As I have been reading about AI and friendship lately, but needed something a little lighter to read while on vacation, I was instantly drawn to Loneliness & Company. It didn't disappoint!
I related to the main character, appreciated her drive and her disappointment both, and just wanted to tag along with her as she started going all-out gathering lived experiences. I also felt at ease in the kind of futuristic backdrop that did not require me to fully suspend disbelief, a hint dystopian but not a whole lot more than today. I had the satisfaction of foretelling where the story was headed, and then being surprised anyway because it wasn't exactly what I thought. And who doesn't like toast and chocolate sauce in a diner?
If I end up reading only one novel this year, I'll be happy that it was this one.
I related to the main character, appreciated her drive and her disappointment both, and just wanted to tag along with her as she started going all-out gathering lived experiences. I also felt at ease in the kind of futuristic backdrop that did not require me to fully suspend disbelief, a hint dystopian but not a whole lot more than today. I had the satisfaction of foretelling where the story was headed, and then being surprised anyway because it wasn't exactly what I thought. And who doesn't like toast and chocolate sauce in a diner?
If I end up reading only one novel this year, I'll be happy that it was this one.
August 4, 2024
Not mad I read it but I was underwhelmed. I liked the idea of a near-future dystopian setting where technology makes life easier but also makes it harder to connect, and musing on whether AI/tech is the answer to that. But mostly I felt bad for the overachieving protagonist who wants so badly to be validated, important and worthy, but has little life experience and no framework for processing emotions.
July 9, 2024
4.5 🌟 as someone who jam packs her calendar/schedule when feeling avoidant, I questioned my relationship with productivity and what is means to have a ‘full life’.
Do we always need to be consuming something? What happens when you let the world around you make the decisions during your day to day life? HMMMM 🤨
Do we always need to be consuming something? What happens when you let the world around you make the decisions during your day to day life? HMMMM 🤨
May 26, 2024
This gave me a lot to think about -- not even the ending so much as some of the subplots (how would someone with no social life go about codifying everything about social interaction; what if talking about an issue really does make it worse; how would you go about living life to maximize new experiences). I also enjoyed the juxtaposition of futuristic ideas with things that we already live with today.
July 5, 2024
Interesting premise (very Severance-esque - BOTH versions of Severance lol) but not well executed in my opinion. Also hated the prose
September 19, 2024
This was quite beautiful 😭
September 16, 2024
For book club - definitely surprised me with how good it is
June 16, 2024
Absolutely loved this book! The characters were awesome and Dyroff puts into beautiful words so much of the mystery of the human experience! I would definitely read this again and anything else this brilliant author will publish!
August 20, 2024
Another wonderful five star read that I would say belongs in the "hopepunk" genre. I loved finding another book that looks critically at our current state and casts us into the future, with commentary that is emotionally insightful and hopeful. A wonderful debut from this author, I'm excited to see if they write more!
September 22, 2024
Really great prose. Some bits structurally that showed it’s a debut, but I really enjoyed it anyway & will read whatever Dryoff does next.
May 15, 2024
This feels like get another outsider’s take on the inside of tech companies, which are far more sophisticated and complex than these worlds build. The research is already outdated, and the lack of emotion to the characters just doesn’t work for me. This book could’ve been good but it’s just fine.
June 30, 2024
I am obsessed with Loneliness & Company.
I knew I would love this book from the very beginning when main character Lee was reminiscing a conversation during a past research study:
“We were studying the effects of play on childhood development”
I can go oooon and on about the effects of play on childhood development. I’m game anytime. I love talking about childhood and adolescent development. Nothing came from my passion topic being mentioned but its inclusion in the book made me so excited for what was going to come.
Loneliness & Company takes place in a future dystopian world. The government eradicated the concept of loneliness from the world but despite that, studies found that people were still lonely.
“the strategy seemed to work for a while, this report demonstrates the opposite. That even without knowledge of what loneliness is, even without a name for it, people can still feel it”
Main character Lee is placed with a research group designed to cure loneliness. There are multiple different research groups tackling loneliness from different angles: using medication to block neuron channels that fire when a person is lonely, creating modern environments meant to increase socialness, and increasing a person’s productivity levels to give them a sense of purpose. The group Lee is part of is attempting to create an AI friend to cure loneliness. Lee has to find as much information about the human experience as she can to feed to the AI.
Dystopian worlds are always fun. Author Charlee Dyroff included some really imaginative concepts.
The door to Lee’s work won’t let people in until the camera has scanned a smiling face and deemed the employee’s work happiness level to be sufficient enough to enter the building. Employees also can’t leave the building until the camera scans their facial expression for indication that they are satisfied with their work productivity.
Cups make a drowning sound when they are overfilled. Characters guessed that this technology was created in an effort to conserve water.
A wine class chimed a warning to Lee that she was going to get drunk.
Lee got a flower delivery while in the hospital. “The friendly nurse asks me if I want their smells turned up or down”
Not all was bad in the dystopian world.
“Look at you. Skin and bones.”
I stare at the woman, confused about why she’s commented on my anatomy
Even in this dystopian world, there is a standard for not commenting on people’s bodies. If only that could be true for our world.
The only issue was I sometimes forgot this book was a dystopian, futuristic world. Some reviews were upset with the lack of world building. I thought it was fine but it didn’t feel consistent. Random dystopian technology would be mentioned every few chapters and I would feel so brought out of the world I was imagining, forced to reimagine everything with the correct scenery.
The government eradicating the concept of loneliness was such an amazing way to comment on our real life world.
“By providing people with to the name of loneliness… we are providing them with a delusional state they will then convince themselves to occupy”
“People argue that naming something gives it power, and that by letting loneliness exist as a concept in the world, people are more likely to claim it, to suffer from it”
“It is decided that loneliness is a false state. It is a trick of the mind and not an actual reality”
It sounded just like the argument against social and emotional learning from the ADE superintendent. Apparently it shouldn’t be in schools because children would claim a diagnosis and suffer from it.
It sounded like everyone who shouts that there shouldn’t be conversations about not identifying with gender stereotypes because “we are providing them with a delusional state they will then convince themselves to occupy”
It sounded like the toxic mindset of not acknowledging negative emotions because that “gives it power”
It sounded like people demanding there be no gay people in media that children could see because it might provide them with a “delusional state they will then convince themselves to occupy”
It sounded like when I was forced to go to a 12 step program for my depression and was told that my mental state was “a trick of” satan “and not an actual reality”
I could go on and on. The arguments against loneliness sounded too close to the problematic mindset that so many people have pertaining to things in real life. It was such a great comment on society.
The cherry on top was when two of the placements decided to leave the research project because they didn’t believe in loneliness (even though they both tested as suffering from it). “And besides, if it is true… we just don’t need that kind of energy in our lives, you know?”
Ugh. So. Good.
Plotwise, I was so happy with the ending of the researchers falsifying the reports and the project failing. Thinking about this book’s research from the perspective of my Gottman classes, crisis intervention, and therapy courses, so much didn’t align. But I was fine with it because, after all, this book is a work of fiction.
“The watch is working. Vicky is on the cusp of working and then what? A world where people connect with technology instead of each other? We already have that. I’d rather have a world of lonely people than a world of numb ones”
“A person can become interwoven into your life and without them it would feel empty…. If Vicky does work- if we help her figure out the immeasurable aspect of what makes a human human, about what makes two humans become friends - she might take the place of someone like Veronika”
I really loved the narrative arc as well as the arc of the main character. They really were perfectly inline with the voice of this book.
While on the topic of the plot, I “knew” Chris was AI from the beginning of the book. What, he is Lee’s coworker/boss but regularly messages her about everything but work. He’s so informal. And he’s always available to talk? About whatever? Even in the middle of the night? Ya, suuure. When Lee discovered that he was AI, it was the most anticlimactic reveal. But when he showed up at the hospital!? WHAT!? Author Charlee Dyroff did so amazing at making Chris seem like AI from the beginning without blatantly saying it or even having Lee thinking it until the end of the book. I couldn’t believe it when Chris was at the hospital.
There were so many quotes from this book that I absolutely loved.
“A person to think with is the most intimate thing someone can have”
I love this. Stephen is my person I can think with. I can say whatever and not fear judgment. I spew my inner thoughts and inner monologue to him in a way that I can’t with other people. I can tell him my deepest thoughts as well as my most surface level ramblings. I can only vocalize my inner thoughts with him, my most intimate relationship.
“I run and run, but I can’t outrun the feeling of burning, bottomless disappointment”
This one's for you freshman year lds family services counselor, you sorry excuse for a cosplaying therapist: exercise, yoga, and coloring can’t solve depression. If you took a single therapy course, you would know that.
“Potential doesn’t just hide inside specific people… it’s in every person, pebble, and place”
“I am lonely even if I can’t pinpoint why. Even if I can’t explain it.”
I wrote down so many quotes. I loved so much that was written n Loneliness & Company.
I had a little issue with Lee being aware of “time is ticking.” It was a little triggering and an awful reminder of my psychosis. The talk of “dread” and being so extremely aware and unable to focus on anything else in life except that every second that passes is a second forever gone. I had to not think about the dread and ticking time Lee was experiencing too much because my brain is finally healed from my last psychotic break and I’d do anything to avoid having another one.
But then I got this quote:
“the conversation. Light jazz. The salty sweet smell of bacon and syrup. All of it relentlessly pulling me back to this moment, reminding me I am here, even just for now”
It was so on the nose. When my brain is struggling, I have to be hyper aware of everything going on around me to remind myself that I am here.
My ONLY critique of Loneliness & Company is that Lee went on way too long in the beginning about how upset she was with her placement at the research company. Her complaints were so direct. I could have probably understood her disappointment just as well by seeing her feelings reflected in her actions and work as I did by reading variations of “I don't want to be here” over and over.
I knew I would love this book from the very beginning when main character Lee was reminiscing a conversation during a past research study:
“We were studying the effects of play on childhood development”
I can go oooon and on about the effects of play on childhood development. I’m game anytime. I love talking about childhood and adolescent development. Nothing came from my passion topic being mentioned but its inclusion in the book made me so excited for what was going to come.
Loneliness & Company takes place in a future dystopian world. The government eradicated the concept of loneliness from the world but despite that, studies found that people were still lonely.
“the strategy seemed to work for a while, this report demonstrates the opposite. That even without knowledge of what loneliness is, even without a name for it, people can still feel it”
Main character Lee is placed with a research group designed to cure loneliness. There are multiple different research groups tackling loneliness from different angles: using medication to block neuron channels that fire when a person is lonely, creating modern environments meant to increase socialness, and increasing a person’s productivity levels to give them a sense of purpose. The group Lee is part of is attempting to create an AI friend to cure loneliness. Lee has to find as much information about the human experience as she can to feed to the AI.
Dystopian worlds are always fun. Author Charlee Dyroff included some really imaginative concepts.
The door to Lee’s work won’t let people in until the camera has scanned a smiling face and deemed the employee’s work happiness level to be sufficient enough to enter the building. Employees also can’t leave the building until the camera scans their facial expression for indication that they are satisfied with their work productivity.
Cups make a drowning sound when they are overfilled. Characters guessed that this technology was created in an effort to conserve water.
A wine class chimed a warning to Lee that she was going to get drunk.
Lee got a flower delivery while in the hospital. “The friendly nurse asks me if I want their smells turned up or down”
Not all was bad in the dystopian world.
“Look at you. Skin and bones.”
I stare at the woman, confused about why she’s commented on my anatomy
Even in this dystopian world, there is a standard for not commenting on people’s bodies. If only that could be true for our world.
The only issue was I sometimes forgot this book was a dystopian, futuristic world. Some reviews were upset with the lack of world building. I thought it was fine but it didn’t feel consistent. Random dystopian technology would be mentioned every few chapters and I would feel so brought out of the world I was imagining, forced to reimagine everything with the correct scenery.
The government eradicating the concept of loneliness was such an amazing way to comment on our real life world.
“By providing people with to the name of loneliness… we are providing them with a delusional state they will then convince themselves to occupy”
“People argue that naming something gives it power, and that by letting loneliness exist as a concept in the world, people are more likely to claim it, to suffer from it”
“It is decided that loneliness is a false state. It is a trick of the mind and not an actual reality”
It sounded just like the argument against social and emotional learning from the ADE superintendent. Apparently it shouldn’t be in schools because children would claim a diagnosis and suffer from it.
It sounded like everyone who shouts that there shouldn’t be conversations about not identifying with gender stereotypes because “we are providing them with a delusional state they will then convince themselves to occupy”
It sounded like the toxic mindset of not acknowledging negative emotions because that “gives it power”
It sounded like people demanding there be no gay people in media that children could see because it might provide them with a “delusional state they will then convince themselves to occupy”
It sounded like when I was forced to go to a 12 step program for my depression and was told that my mental state was “a trick of” satan “and not an actual reality”
I could go on and on. The arguments against loneliness sounded too close to the problematic mindset that so many people have pertaining to things in real life. It was such a great comment on society.
The cherry on top was when two of the placements decided to leave the research project because they didn’t believe in loneliness (even though they both tested as suffering from it). “And besides, if it is true… we just don’t need that kind of energy in our lives, you know?”
Ugh. So. Good.
Plotwise, I was so happy with the ending of the researchers falsifying the reports and the project failing. Thinking about this book’s research from the perspective of my Gottman classes, crisis intervention, and therapy courses, so much didn’t align. But I was fine with it because, after all, this book is a work of fiction.
“The watch is working. Vicky is on the cusp of working and then what? A world where people connect with technology instead of each other? We already have that. I’d rather have a world of lonely people than a world of numb ones”
“A person can become interwoven into your life and without them it would feel empty…. If Vicky does work- if we help her figure out the immeasurable aspect of what makes a human human, about what makes two humans become friends - she might take the place of someone like Veronika”
I really loved the narrative arc as well as the arc of the main character. They really were perfectly inline with the voice of this book.
While on the topic of the plot, I “knew” Chris was AI from the beginning of the book. What, he is Lee’s coworker/boss but regularly messages her about everything but work. He’s so informal. And he’s always available to talk? About whatever? Even in the middle of the night? Ya, suuure. When Lee discovered that he was AI, it was the most anticlimactic reveal. But when he showed up at the hospital!? WHAT!? Author Charlee Dyroff did so amazing at making Chris seem like AI from the beginning without blatantly saying it or even having Lee thinking it until the end of the book. I couldn’t believe it when Chris was at the hospital.
There were so many quotes from this book that I absolutely loved.
“A person to think with is the most intimate thing someone can have”
I love this. Stephen is my person I can think with. I can say whatever and not fear judgment. I spew my inner thoughts and inner monologue to him in a way that I can’t with other people. I can tell him my deepest thoughts as well as my most surface level ramblings. I can only vocalize my inner thoughts with him, my most intimate relationship.
“I run and run, but I can’t outrun the feeling of burning, bottomless disappointment”
This one's for you freshman year lds family services counselor, you sorry excuse for a cosplaying therapist: exercise, yoga, and coloring can’t solve depression. If you took a single therapy course, you would know that.
“Potential doesn’t just hide inside specific people… it’s in every person, pebble, and place”
“I am lonely even if I can’t pinpoint why. Even if I can’t explain it.”
I wrote down so many quotes. I loved so much that was written n Loneliness & Company.
I had a little issue with Lee being aware of “time is ticking.” It was a little triggering and an awful reminder of my psychosis. The talk of “dread” and being so extremely aware and unable to focus on anything else in life except that every second that passes is a second forever gone. I had to not think about the dread and ticking time Lee was experiencing too much because my brain is finally healed from my last psychotic break and I’d do anything to avoid having another one.
But then I got this quote:
“the conversation. Light jazz. The salty sweet smell of bacon and syrup. All of it relentlessly pulling me back to this moment, reminding me I am here, even just for now”
It was so on the nose. When my brain is struggling, I have to be hyper aware of everything going on around me to remind myself that I am here.
My ONLY critique of Loneliness & Company is that Lee went on way too long in the beginning about how upset she was with her placement at the research company. Her complaints were so direct. I could have probably understood her disappointment just as well by seeing her feelings reflected in her actions and work as I did by reading variations of “I don't want to be here” over and over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2024
Great premise, not my favorite writing. I like the world it built but didn’t feel like any of the characters were real.
February 29, 2024
Expected publication date is 5/7/2024. I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A young academic favorite in the near future doesn’t get the job she expects after graduation but is instead assigned to an unknown company in the dead city of New York. She is told that her job is to research how to train an AI to be a friend, but eventually finds out that this is a classified government mission to solve loneliness — an emotion that hasn’t really existed for decades but is making a comeback. An AI is basically an algorithm, and isn’t that the opposite of genuine human interaction? And why is loneliness returning to the world? Was it ever really gone at all?
The main character is unlikeable for a long time. The writing style will irk a lot of readers. Lots of sentence fragments. Written how someone speaks. Like this. Once I got past that, I really enjoyed the book. AI has been a big thing lately, so the novel is timely and relevant. The author managed to write something with a big heart about what it is to be human and alive, and the importance of connection and friendships when everything has gone digital.
A young academic favorite in the near future doesn’t get the job she expects after graduation but is instead assigned to an unknown company in the dead city of New York. She is told that her job is to research how to train an AI to be a friend, but eventually finds out that this is a classified government mission to solve loneliness — an emotion that hasn’t really existed for decades but is making a comeback. An AI is basically an algorithm, and isn’t that the opposite of genuine human interaction? And why is loneliness returning to the world? Was it ever really gone at all?
The main character is unlikeable for a long time. The writing style will irk a lot of readers. Lots of sentence fragments. Written how someone speaks. Like this. Once I got past that, I really enjoyed the book. AI has been a big thing lately, so the novel is timely and relevant. The author managed to write something with a big heart about what it is to be human and alive, and the importance of connection and friendships when everything has gone digital.
June 12, 2024
Absolutely fantastic debut. Beautifully written with endearing and well fleshed out characters, this book is not to be missed! So many interesting topics explored, and as of late I'm obsessed with anything discussing how humans and AI could potentially interact in the future. Definitely recommend this one!
July 22, 2024
I think I may have found my Top 5 favorite books. If I could give this book 10 stars I would. I was not expecting to devour and love this book as I did. I have seen this book compared to and reviewed with "Annie Bot" which I DNF'd. I borrowed the copy of this book from my local library, but I plan on buying myself a copy. It is beautifully written with some wonderful quotes that i would like to capture more of and tab.
SUMMARY:
In Dryoff's debut novel, we follow a 27 year old woman by the name of Lee. She is the top of her class of something that is referenced as The Placement in the story. It is similar to what is like an internship or practicum in college. With Lee being the top of her class and having all the potential, she is for sure to get a placement in one of the Big Five Corporations until she doesn't. Lee gets placed into unknown Corporation ran by Janet and Toru who are in turn one of the companies looking into the meaning/ world of being lonely after it was extricated and banned from the world using an AI named Vicky. Lee is secretly sucked into the government's secret assignment specifically based off the Placement not registering that Lee is in fact Lonely. As we go through the story, Lee has to live life outside of her research of what's been holding her back in order to make Vicky successful and make sense of the world around them.
CHARACTERS
Veronika
Veronika's character was probably my favorite. She essentially important to the development of Lee's character. She is more carefree, charismatic, and full of life with experiences. Veronika is also a social butterfly and essentially helps with Vicky's interactions and understanding of human life and interactions. You can see that Veronika truly cares about Lee and her well being. Veronika gives Lee, our main character the experiences such as:
-becoming apart of a friend group "The BABES"
-becoming part of a dating app and experiencing new people / men
-getting drunk "Tequila makes every night an opportunity" ; "Wine always makes me feel good, you know? Like it never fails. I mean sometimes it makes me emotional or whatever but even then I don't think that's a bad thing. Actually I've been trying to embrace those ups and downs more. People say you should try to stay balanced, but I kind of like the extremes, don't you ? "|"
-lending her invitation with deepening her friendship with Lee
"We don't have to talk about it. but i feel like we should because people don't you know? Not people, but women never talk about this stuff and we totally should. It's like we feel we have to keep it secret or something and that's stupid!"
Lee
I am not sure how this Placement System didn't register Lee's loneliness. I was saying she seemed extremely sheltered and lonely within the first ten pages. Lee, however is essentially everything our book is about though. There were so many themes that Lee introduced including: the meaning of life, self-awareness, etc. Our author shows us through Lee the human's ability/impulse to automate different emotions. Lee was destined to be great from the beginning and we see her parents gave her some experiences but in turn her mentor, Masha, actually stopped her experiences and held her back from being more than what she was destined to do. Her mentor let her think anything outside of the lab and research would be a distraction But he never got the chance to experience what I forced myself to outside of work, outside the lab, did he? He never got the chance to see that potential doesn't just hide inside specific people, but that its in every person, place, and pebble. Maybe I wasted mine or maybe I'm finally tapping into it and one day he'll see" . I looked at Lee as if she was the AI model because of how numb she really was. Her life was uprooted in so many ways and her path down life in turned became very different along with having different end goals "If the past few months have taught me anything, it's that I'm the common denominator in misunderstandings. It's me who doesn't know how to act, react, be outside the program, the lab, my own tunnel of research">
REVIEW
I would over and over again give this book 10 stars. It is probably in my top 5 favorite books of all time and my second favorite book this year in 2024. This story was super interesting with all of the themes being present. It was witty, humorous. It was so interesting to see the character development of Lee and reading how she had to relearn human interactions and basics of friendships/relationships in order for Vicky to succeed in the assignment. Dyroff shows the empathy and pysches of humans especially women and I think that I wish we got more POVs. I got so attached to all of the characters and it made me so tuned into the book that when I finally read that Lee had sex and Janet did the unimaginable upon relying on technology I was shook, SHOOCKETH. I literally was at work with my hand over my mouth. I will be buying my own copy of this particular book in physical form or kindle. There are some really valid points that hit a little too close to home that I enjoyed dissecting throughout the book.
"What is it like to be lonely?
im afraid of who I've become, of the future, of not being enough, I crave silence even though I want someone to break it. To be around people and to be left alone. I'm disappointed with where time has taken me. I want others to understand and am frustrated when they cant"
"We cannot see the world without seeing pieces of ourselves.""
Loneliness is iridescent. It changes depending on the person feeling it."
"Loneliness leads to more loneliness. People who are experiencing it become self conscious. Terrified and embarrassed of what they are feeling, thinking something is wrong with them, they cut off ties from others.""
"Don't let this suit fool you, anyone can put it on.""
Isn't it wonderful to get lost because it's not about the destination"
SUMMARY:
In Dryoff's debut novel, we follow a 27 year old woman by the name of Lee. She is the top of her class of something that is referenced as The Placement in the story. It is similar to what is like an internship or practicum in college. With Lee being the top of her class and having all the potential, she is for sure to get a placement in one of the Big Five Corporations until she doesn't. Lee gets placed into unknown Corporation ran by Janet and Toru who are in turn one of the companies looking into the meaning/ world of being lonely after it was extricated and banned from the world using an AI named Vicky. Lee is secretly sucked into the government's secret assignment specifically based off the Placement not registering that Lee is in fact Lonely. As we go through the story, Lee has to live life outside of her research of what's been holding her back in order to make Vicky successful and make sense of the world around them.
CHARACTERS
Veronika
Veronika's character was probably my favorite. She essentially important to the development of Lee's character. She is more carefree, charismatic, and full of life with experiences. Veronika is also a social butterfly and essentially helps with Vicky's interactions and understanding of human life and interactions. You can see that Veronika truly cares about Lee and her well being. Veronika gives Lee, our main character the experiences such as:
-becoming apart of a friend group "The BABES"
-becoming part of a dating app and experiencing new people / men
-getting drunk "Tequila makes every night an opportunity" ; "Wine always makes me feel good, you know? Like it never fails. I mean sometimes it makes me emotional or whatever but even then I don't think that's a bad thing. Actually I've been trying to embrace those ups and downs more. People say you should try to stay balanced, but I kind of like the extremes, don't you ? "|"
-lending her invitation with deepening her friendship with Lee
"We don't have to talk about it. but i feel like we should because people don't you know? Not people, but women never talk about this stuff and we totally should. It's like we feel we have to keep it secret or something and that's stupid!"
Lee
I am not sure how this Placement System didn't register Lee's loneliness. I was saying she seemed extremely sheltered and lonely within the first ten pages. Lee, however is essentially everything our book is about though. There were so many themes that Lee introduced including: the meaning of life, self-awareness, etc. Our author shows us through Lee the human's ability/impulse to automate different emotions. Lee was destined to be great from the beginning and we see her parents gave her some experiences but in turn her mentor, Masha, actually stopped her experiences and held her back from being more than what she was destined to do. Her mentor let her think anything outside of the lab and research would be a distraction But he never got the chance to experience what I forced myself to outside of work, outside the lab, did he? He never got the chance to see that potential doesn't just hide inside specific people, but that its in every person, place, and pebble. Maybe I wasted mine or maybe I'm finally tapping into it and one day he'll see" . I looked at Lee as if she was the AI model because of how numb she really was. Her life was uprooted in so many ways and her path down life in turned became very different along with having different end goals "If the past few months have taught me anything, it's that I'm the common denominator in misunderstandings. It's me who doesn't know how to act, react, be outside the program, the lab, my own tunnel of research">
REVIEW
I would over and over again give this book 10 stars. It is probably in my top 5 favorite books of all time and my second favorite book this year in 2024. This story was super interesting with all of the themes being present. It was witty, humorous. It was so interesting to see the character development of Lee and reading how she had to relearn human interactions and basics of friendships/relationships in order for Vicky to succeed in the assignment. Dyroff shows the empathy and pysches of humans especially women and I think that I wish we got more POVs. I got so attached to all of the characters and it made me so tuned into the book that when I finally read that Lee had sex and Janet did the unimaginable upon relying on technology I was shook, SHOOCKETH. I literally was at work with my hand over my mouth. I will be buying my own copy of this particular book in physical form or kindle. There are some really valid points that hit a little too close to home that I enjoyed dissecting throughout the book.
"What is it like to be lonely?
im afraid of who I've become, of the future, of not being enough, I crave silence even though I want someone to break it. To be around people and to be left alone. I'm disappointed with where time has taken me. I want others to understand and am frustrated when they cant"
"We cannot see the world without seeing pieces of ourselves.""
Loneliness is iridescent. It changes depending on the person feeling it."
"Loneliness leads to more loneliness. People who are experiencing it become self conscious. Terrified and embarrassed of what they are feeling, thinking something is wrong with them, they cut off ties from others.""
"Don't let this suit fool you, anyone can put it on.""
Isn't it wonderful to get lost because it's not about the destination"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2024
Excellent prose that worked well with the themes. Would have been a 5/5 if the characters and worldbuilding had a little more depth. Still a very impressive debut!
CW: drug use, mental illness, sexual content, alcohol use, violence, motor vehicle accident, infidelity, medical content
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher as a Goodreads Giveaway. A review was requested but not required and the content and star rating are both my own. The edition I received was an Advanced Reader Copy and may differ from the published version.
CW: drug use, mental illness, sexual content, alcohol use, violence, motor vehicle accident, infidelity, medical content
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher as a Goodreads Giveaway. A review was requested but not required and the content and star rating are both my own. The edition I received was an Advanced Reader Copy and may differ from the published version.
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