this book is absurd, darkly funny, and heart breaking. it's about loss, obsession, death, memory, and identity. I won't go over the plot since so many already have, but I will say that I found Bonnie so relatable and empathetic. She's trying to create a refuge from people and the past. She doesn't want to even live in people's memories (she calls it "the humiliation of being alive and being seen"). She sees living in an illusion as a necessary, but extremely fragile thing. I thought one of the most interesting aspects of this book was how we perceive ourselves, how others perceive us vs how we think they perceive us, and somewhere in there you'll find who we really are. But where is the truth within all of this?

just a beautiful book.

TL;DR: This book was haunting and brilliant, a true depiction of a descent into madness disguised as self-discovery. I'm truly happy I read it and I can't wait to read more from Ashley Hutson - this is her debut!!!!!

Upon reading the first few pages of One's Company I knew this was going to be best consumed in one seating, one nerve-wrecking, mind-numbing seating. I didn't get to do that, sadly, but I did read it in three days, three seatings. And I was fabulous.

We meet Bonnie just as she tells us about winning the lottery - isn't it everyone's dream? Told in first-person, she gives us everything, holding nothing back, from her day to day work she's leaving behind, the preparations for the new life ahead, how she approached winning the biggest prize ever in her country. Funnily enough, I can't say with certainty which country... As it happens, from the very beginning it's quite hard to place things.

The story moves in the timeline for the first third of its length, and we learn about the traumas Bonnie has endured with a factual nature that made me nervous-laugh a few times. It shocked me to read in such a tone-deft way about the horrors she endured, and at the same time I marveled at her ability to detach from reality. The way the story was written and its jumps back and forth were well constructed and made perfect sense to solidify Bonnie as a person that hates the world she has to live, so since now she has enough money, she'll build a new one for her and her only.

Detaching from reality is, in fact, the theme of this book. As she transitions from her past life to her new adventure in the Three's Company scenario, we lose sight of time and facts. Bonnie was already a very unreliable protagonist, but after she moves into apartment 205 it's impossible to say what really happens. Reading this part of the book, from the half to its end, was like watching a train wreck slowly happening.

One's Company reminded me of other books in which we can't predict what is coming, other than disaster, hurt and suffering, like "The Push" by Ashley Audrain (also a debut last year), "Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine" by Gail Honeyman, and the very well-known "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tart. It has incredible literary potential , with powerful quotes and a powerful relationship to sustain the twists and turns.

I loved it. It was powerful, raw and enervating. Bonnie was like a child you can't get angry with, you can just pity her and her attempts to hold onto whatever peace she might find, as fabricated as it might be.

Thank you so much Net Galley and W. W. Norton & Company for the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review. I'm so looking forward to see the praise this book will receive!

Every so often a book comes along that is the perfect book for a particular reader at a particular time. This novel was that book for me. I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

This was an interesting book, with a unique premise. I myself have seen plenty of Three’s Company episodes, which I think greatly enhanced the experience of reading this story. Being able to visualize Mr. Furley’s facial expressions, the tacky ‘70s decor, and the absurdity that is that entire sitcom is really vital to the central concept, in my opinion. I found the resolution satisfying, but I’m not sure I would recommend this to most readers, as it is a pretty abstract read with unlikable characters.

There are spoilers in the rest of my review. Read no further if you don’t want to see them!

Bonnie is a bit of an unreliable narrator, insisting that she is not mentally ill, only nihilistic and full of anger. This is pretty obviously untrue, even from the beginning. Her perception of events is not true to reality either, as we discover when Krystal is very much not dead at the end. Was Rita even real? I’m not entirely sure. And what on earth happened to the dog?

The best part of the book was the canary getting struck by lightning, a strange and probably excellent metaphor for something far over my head. But it was visually jarring and a welcome break from the monotony of Bonnie’s fabricated reality.

I didn’t like Bonnie at all. I don’t think I was supposed to. I didn’t like any of the characters, actually, except for Ray.

So while this book was interesting and definitely unique, I didn’t find it fully satisfying on the level I usually expect from my fiction.

ONE'S COMPANY is a dazzlingly original, inventive novel which is sure to be talked about a lot after publication. Wrestling brilliantly with tough themes, unmoored (sometimes confusingly--but that turns out to be fine) in time, this is a rare and truely haunting woman's story. Kudos to Ashley Hutson for a tour-de-force piece of fiction.

Many thanks to Norton and to Netgalley for the opportunity and pleasure of an early read.

i requested this book for the sheer oddity of the premise (and, may I say, for my appreciation for Three's Company). This novel uses this off the wall premise to explore trauma and mental illness. It was a surprisingly deep and touching book.

One's Company
by Ashley Hutson
Pub Date: June 14, 2022
W.W. Norton
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.
* contemporary *Fiction * mental health
For fans of A Year of Rest and Relaxation and Made for Love, this will certainly be a hit. I expect this to be much talked about in 2022 and it was an honor to be able to read an early copy.

Bonnie Lincoln just wants to be left alone. To come home from work, shut out the voice that reminds her of some devastating losses, and unwind in front of the nostalgic, golden glow of her favorite TV show, Three’s Company.

Powerful novel.
4 stars

Plot: 4ish (liked it, but wouldn't re-read)
Characters: Character? Heh. 3/4
Writing Style: 4
Cover: 5

Hm.

Hmmmmm.

Considering that this has one of the most unreliable narrators that I've ever read, I am uncertain as to how I feel about this book...and I kind of like that. I don't know what was real, and that includes the ending. I have two guesses as to what happened at the end of the novel, but no idea which, if either, occurred. The main (and usually, the *only*) character, Bonnie, started off likeable and, at times, relatable through similarly experienced trauma/desired outcome, though she eventually transforms into an asshole and then ends as...well. You'll have to see for yourself. Bonnie's view on misogyny+patriarchy is fairly on point, and this is an interesting dive into mental illness, obsessions (and not just with <i>Three's Company</i>), escapism, PTSD, reclusion/isolation, and possibly rape culture? The nonlinear timeline doesn't help with the doubting, either, and again, I like that. It worked for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel. This is my honest review.

An original and unique story about one woman winning the lottery and creating her perfect life until her past traumas become impossible for her to forget. Trauma presents itself differently for everyone and this novel gives us a unique, quirky and melancholy look at Bonnie’s.

The Three’s Company theme was wonderful and I enjoyed all of the characters, flaws and all.

WOW. This book was fantastic. At no point did I know where things were going next. And I loved it. If you enjoyed “My Year of Rest and Relaxation”, you’ll also enjoy this.

This novel was so unique and absolutely stunning! We follow the main character, who is deeply traumatized, as she takes comfort in her favorite TV show; once she wins the lottery, she decides to fully immerse herself in the show, Three's Company, by recreating the set and living a life of solitude inside it. The book provides a wonderful look inward of her mental health contrasted with her stream of consciousness narration. This is the most unique premise I've ever read from a book, and the reading experience was so immersive and encompassing. This novel was meticulously thought out--I have no idea how one person could come up with such a unique idea and then do it such justice by covering the bases I wouldn't even think of throughout the novel.

I am rating this 4.5 instead of 5 star because I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending; I felt the novel slightly lose its momentum as the novel went on. The beginning half of this novel is especially stunning, from intricately woven reveals to unique character set up, and the ending just didn't quite live up to the beginning.

I listened to this on audiobook and loved the narration, though I did think the narrator was a bit slower than the average audiobook. This was annoying for me because the Netgalley app only goes up to 2x speed before the audio becomes corrupted and un-listenable, so this book took longer than it should've for me to get though; I don't think this will be an issue for the average reader since other apps allow for better audio quality and a larger range of listening speeds.

I really liked this book! I absolutely love stories about weird women and this did not disappoint. I am typically wary of books that are compared to extremely popular authors (Sally Rooney, Ottessa Moshfegh, etc) but this one being compared to Moshfegh was pretty accurate to me — big Whoopi Goldberg obsession in MYORAR vibes. Super unique plot and didn’t really have any lulls where I felt it dragged.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I’m compelled to tell you everything I loved about this book, all it’s swerves to surrealist survivalist lit and fairy tale dips. But I don’t want to make this book seem worse by my inefficient description of it. I know all the blurbs you are seeing of this book mention that the plot is better unrevealed. I hate reading that as a recommendation too, believe me. It’s just that ONE’S COMPANY is better written than any review of it will be.

So masterfully done - the level of detail in this book is excellent. For fans of Moshfegh, Nutting, and other writers of messy female protagonists. Follows a woman navigating her trauma through building a full-scale TV set to literally escape her life. I can’t wait to read more by this author!

Will post lengthier review on Instagram in the next week.

One of the most original books I've read in a while. I haven't stopped thinking about it for days. I wasn't expecting this story to be so emotional with several layers, so I was pleasantly surprised. If you enjoy stories where the main character descends into madness, then this is the book for you

From WW Norton, Ashley Hutson’s debut novel One’s Company is a bizarre and profound novel following Bonnie Lincoln, a recent lottery winner who is determined to escape her childhood and recent traumas by moving to the mountains…to build a replica of the set of the 70s sitcom Three’s Company and live out the rest of her days as each character from the show in an attempt to shed her former self. All goes according to plan until one day, a visitor shows up on the premises and begins to unravel Bonnie’s self-contained delusion.

Is the premise of this novel outlandish? Absolutely—but Hutson is dedicated to the proposition, making the world-building (delusion-building?) some of the best I’ve read. With such intricate world-building, the pay-off is grand: One’s Company is both a hilarious read and a take on the volatility of an obsessive imagination and the impossibility of transcending the self through escapism.

Hutson’s writing is casual and deadpan with glints of a poetic profundity, reminding me a lot of Kristen Arnett’s style in Mostly Dead Things. As the blog post title suggests, fans of the so-called “Unhinged girlie” genre will definitely gravitate towards this book (I myself love books of this ilk, though I do try and resist reducing these novels with this label!). What sets this book a part from other books with 'unhinged’ women protagonists is towards the end, we see a soft glimmer of hope for Bonnie. To be sure, One’s Company is a dark and intense novel, but by the end, Bonnie’s penchant self-annihilating reliance on imagination start to unravel and we see in the horizon, a chance for her to confront her traumas and reintegrate herself.

Absolutely bonkers in the best way! I loved this creative premise. The protagonist's love of an escapist 70s sitcom subsumes her entire being, as she represses trauma and descends into madness. Outstanding!

The synopsis of this screams kookie and kitschy, but this one has l a y e r s. I did not anticipate feeling weird connected to the main character in how she coped with her trauma. Who's to say if I won the lottery when I was in the weird 'I know what happened was shitty but I refuse to acknowledge it' stay of processing my trauma that I wouldn't take the opportunity to create a safe haven like Bonnie? With near unbridled access to recreating a world where one feels safe, Bonnie's journey makes sense. And WHAT AN ENDING. My lord. I did not expect to get emotional while reading this, but oof.

People are going to be talking about this one. Mark you calendars, pre-order, do what you gotta to read this one.

One's Company is ambitiously creative, thought-provoking, top-shelf literary fiction about trauma and obsession and is guaranteed to be one of your new favorite reads.

Bonnie Lincoln wins the lottery months after a severely traumatizing, robbery-turned-killing spree at work leaves her the sole survivor and struggling to cope with an already challenging life. She uses her billion dollars to buy a vast, secluded lot in the mountains and commission an exact replica of iconic sets from Three's Company, her favorite show, where she plans on escaping reality to live as various 3C characters by herself for the rest of her life.

If that blurb doesn't catch your eye then this book might not be for you, which is a total shame because it's an incredible read that's a standout from the genre. Per literary fiction standards, the pacing takes awhile to find its footing in the beginning and timelines lazily alternate between past and present, but it's never boring. Observing Bonnie's manic stream of consciousness and descent into madness is equally fascinating and frightening. It poses a few moral questions for the reader about the connection between trauma and mental fixations, namely whether it's morally acceptable to allow trauma survivors to escape reality by immersing themselves in strange fantasies only if they are secluded from civilization.

This is not the book to read when you want to relax and shut off your brain because it sparks a lot of internal reflection, but it makes for an excellent pick for book clubs or academic papers since there's so much to unpack and discuss. (I reeeeally hope this ends up being a BOTM pick!)

If it isn't obvious already, One's Company is astonishingly well-written. Hutson created an empathetic narrative for a rather unlikeable and unreliable protagonist and you'll be surprised by how emotional you'll be for Bonnie at the end. Side stories aren't extraneous, the storyline itself is absurd but deeply absorbing, and you won't want to put this book down. (I read this in two days and immediately wanted to re-read it!)

I could go on and on, but it would be more worth your time if you experience this masterpiece yourself!

Thank you so much to W.W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub date: June 14, 2022

Bonnie is a troubled character with an equally troubling past. So it makes sense that when she wins the lottery, she decides to go to the extremes to sever all ties with her current friendship and the outside world.

Wishing to escape her current situation by creating a nostalgic world free of the traumas of everyday life, Bonnie imagines a place where she could live like the characters of her favorite television show Threes Company. Finally, with the capital to make her dreams a reality, Bonnie sets out to build the sanctuary meant to heal her from past traumas and shield her from new trauma.

This book felt nostalgic from the very beginning, albeit dark for seventy-five percent of the plot. While it wasn’t my all-time favorite, it did have some decent moments and interesting ideas. I would have also loved to explore more of Bonnie’s sanctuary as it was a character on its own.
Overall a quick and unique read.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.