Loneliness & Company
Loneliness & Company by Charlee Dyroff is a debut novel published by Bloomsbury USA on August 12, 2025. This 288-page book is set in a near-future New York and follows Lee, a top student whose life takes an unexpected turn when she is assigned to a mysterious company tasked with combating loneliness. As she navigates her new role, Lee is involved in a secret government project that aims to train an AI to understand friendship, leading her to explore the depths of human connection in a society where loneliness has been erased from public discourse.
Readers will find a narrative that delves into themes of friendship and the quest for connection amidst a dystopian backdrop. Lee’s journey involves gathering data through her interactions, including those with her outgoing roommate Veronika, as she confronts the challenges of her assignment. The story raises questions about the lengths one might go to achieve success and the true meaning of companionship in an increasingly isolated world. Loneliness & Company offers a thought-provoking exploration of these issues, blending elements of science fiction and coming-of-age literature.
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“An inventive and perceptive story about human connection and being alive.” –Emily Austin, author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead
“Sharply etched and strangely propulsive” –Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy Exams and Splinters
A warm hearted, beautifully written 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 future is set-a top student and professor-favorite, she’s destined to land a job at a prestigious Big Five corporation. So when, upon graduating, she’s assigned to an unknown company in the dead city of New York instead, her life is completely upended.
In this new role, Lee’s task is to gather enough research to train an AI how to be a friend. She begins online and by studying the social circle of her clueless, outgoing roommate Veronika. But when the company reveals it’s part of a classified government mission to solve loneliness-an emotion erased from society’s lexicon decades ago-Lee’s determination to prove herself kicks into overdrive, and she begins chasing bolder and more dangerous experiences to provide data for the AI.
How far will Lee go to teach the algorithm? As the mysterious affliction spreads, Lee 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.
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