One's Company: A Novel Paperback – June 14, 2022

I too grew up watching Three's Company and was very interested in the concept of the book. I am familiar with issues of depression, drugs & mood swings with family history of such things in older relatives. The book takes the reader to the precipice of those possibilities, yet keeps pulling the reader back to a possible reality. The reader will experience joy, sadness, laughter, friendship, love & hope in this carefully spun mind exploratory novel of life and death. The reader is left with the question of who we truly are and what we mean to ourselves and others in this vast universe of human beings.

First of all, this is a bleak story, and if I had known that, I wouldn’t have started it, bc really, who wants to go down that road unnecessarily? I spent most of the book feeling sort of annoyed at Bonnie for wasting her life and pushing everyone away, and sort of sorry for her for just not being able to cope. But toward the end I was on her side, bc I think she had a perfect right to waste her life as she saw fit, as long as she wasn’t hurting anyone else, which she wasn’t. By the end I was 100% Team Bonnie. I don’t want to give anything away, but I found the wrap-up rushed, like Hutson just got tired of the story herself.

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.

I read this book in between two other novels, both dealing with their own struggles with the unfortunate human condition. This book, to me, was a breath of fresh air. The pacing is tight, the characters are beyond believable, the plot is outrageous yet depressingly understandable, I had a terrific time with this book. Please, if your considering reading it, give it a shot.

How do I begin to describe this audiobook? It's a bit out there. No, it's more than that, it's completely out there!Remember the sit-com "Three's Company" from the late 70's with John Ritter, Joyce Dewitt, and Suzanne Sommers? Yeah, that one! Well, Bonnie, our protagonist in this story is obsessed with it and the measures she takes to live her life vicariously through these characters is what this story is all about...mostly!I should add that money is no problem for Bonnie because she's just won the biggest lottery payout in US history! She moves to a remote locale and uses her winnings to build a replica of the show's set, including the apartment building the cast members lived in and the surrounding businesses that resemble a small town. Then she begins living her 'dream come true' by immersing herself in becoming the cast members. Bizarre, right?It's just Bonnie and her imagination in this way-out-there, crazy premise. Well, not just Bonnie, but almost!So why did I enjoy this story so much?The main character is believable despite her over-the-top "Three’s Company" fixation. The writing is fantastic and the narration of the audiobook by Rachel Jacobs is compelling and emotional. The story is primarily written in a first-person narrative from Bonnie and it's deep and raw, thought provoking and mind-bending, with triggers and touches of themes that nightmares are made of.Y'all know I enjoy stories that are different and original, creative and imaginative, right? Absurdist Fiction is a new sub-genre for me but believe me when I tell you this one delivered and I was all in!Thank you to NetGalley, Orange Sky Audio, and Ashley Hutson for a free ALC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

​I fell in love with this little book. This story is beyond imaginative. Get ready to suspend your belief and hold on to your heart. It’s told from the impossibly unique perspective of a woman who wins the lottery and becomes a recluse. She doesn’t simply retreat into her house, she builds a fantasy world based on her favorite TV sitcom, Three’s Company.There is a shocking death, another loss, then a horrifying trauma plus a wild win. If that sounds strange, it is. It’s a story like nothing I’ve read before. Well, ok, it reminded me a bit of Claire Alexander’s MEREDITH, ALONE. Bonnie has endured unimaginable horror. No spoilers but know that where there is darkness, there is also light. And laughter.