Name: Maria's review of One's Company by Ashley Hutson
Item: One's Company
Rating: 3
Author: Maria

Ashley Hutson

One of BuzzFeed's Must-Read Summer Books

For readers of Ottessa Moshfegh and Mona Awad, this fearless debut chronicles one woman’s escape into a world of obsessive imagination.

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

When Bonnie wins the lottery, a more grandiose vision―to completely shuck off her own troublesome identity―takes shape. She plans a drastic move to an isolated mountain retreat where she can re-create the iconic apartment set of Three’s Company and slip into the lives of its main characters: no-nonsense Janet Wood, pleasantly airheaded Chrissy Snow, and confident Jack Tripper. While her best friend, Krystal, tries to drag her back to her old life, Bonnie is determined to transcend pain, trauma, and the baggage of her past by immersing herself in the ultimate binge-watch.

One's Company

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Maria

unusual and perhaps kind of ridiculous in premise, but ultimately a devastating story of loss and trauma and the coping mechanisms we employ to deal with that. it’s a well-written and clever book. i had no idea three’s company was a real show until i was almost done reading and finally googled it. 
however, halfway through i kind of lost interest & this might just be me & the current headspace i’m in, but i felt like the first half took way too long to finally get to the moment when the entire scene is set. 
still, i’m sure this will be a great read for many, just beware that there’s mentions of rape if you go into this blindly.

Christine Bruce

Bonnie suffers from severe depression after a traumatic experience wherein she was raped, and people she loved were murdered. Soon after she is the sole winning lottery ticket and decides to cut out the world and build an exact replica of the set of three's company- the show she discovered immediately after the attack and latched onto. She retreats to live out every episode of every season, and after some time this solitude is encroached upon. 

To be completely honest, I could not stand Bonnie. I understand she had been through something horrific, and for others this might be a great read, but the way she thinks only she is entitled to her version of grief. That she so horribly treats her best friend, who's parents were the ones murdered, it was awful. She finds herself finding inspiration from serial killers and supreme secrecy. I did not enjoy being inside her mind at all. 

I also didn't like that this entire aspect was a surprise upon starting the book. I knew something happened to trigger Bonnie to want to just... live in a fantasy 70s world, but the extreme graphic detail and the weight of what was discussed was not alluded to in the description beyond "some devastating losses." But when I say graphic, I mean GRAPHIC.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
One's Company by Ashley Hutson

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &One's Company by Ashley Hutson

Reviews

Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
One's Company by Ashley Hutson