This book is such a savvy, deadpan, moving meditation-unto-absurdity on obsession and trauma and throwaway television and the ways that our hobbies can hurt us and heal us and sometimes overwhelm us. I absolutely loved it.--Amber Sparks, author of And I Do Not Forgive You

Like some uncanny hybrid of Tom McCarthy, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Mulholland Drive, Ashley Hutson's high concept black comedy, One's Company, packs deranged laughs against deep trauma in a no-holds-barred debut. Surreal, ambitious, and page-turning, the painful memory performance of Bonnie Lincoln's wish to live forever in a sitcom might be more realistic than the realism we think we know.--Blake Butler, author of Alice Knott

Ashley Hutson's novel fearlessly takes on trauma, loneliness, madness, and desire in wholly unexpected ways. The dazzling imagination of the novel's formidable protagonist, Bonnie Lincoln, is rivaled only by that of her brilliant creator: One's Company is a totally original, bitterly funny, and emotionally complex tale about the power of fantasy to both save and destroy the things we cherish.--Maryse Meijer, author of The Seventh Mansion

[An] affecting and ingenious debut... This darkly clever work dramatizes the necessity and fragility of illusions, showing how they can crumble when broadcast to the world. Hutson is off to a brilliant start.-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

[Ashley] Hutson is far too smart...to turn Bonnie into an easy case study on the effects of trauma...Hutson's prose, too, is as cleareyed and convincing as the novel's premise is farcical...Looks at trauma, wealth, and infatuation through a startlingly original lens.-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"

This novel hooked me from the very first line... Hutson's prose is both simple and captivating, containing nuggets of wisdom that peek into the complexity of humanity.--Farrah Penn "Buzzfeed"

[An] engaging debut... There's much to appreciate in Hutson's deft exploration of the toll trauma takes as well as both the lure and dangers of disappearing into a fantasy world.-- "Booklist"

Joyfully weird... Like many sitcoms, this novel balances lightness, humor and love with moments of darkness and even horror... Who among us has never longed to escape into a TV show, a movie, a written story, to live in it at least temporarily? One's Company, delightfully odd and beautifully written, is a pleasure to read.--Claire Kohda "New York Times Book Review"

One of my favorite books of the year... [One's Company] is wildly original, and clever, and stunningly sad. It's an excellent look at trauma and loneliness and American culture and excess.--Liberty Hardy ""All the Books" Podcast"

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Pub date: 2022-06-14

Length: 272 pages