Shannon Miz's Reviews > Loneliness & Company

I really enjoyed the premise (and the execution!) of Loneliness & Company. In it, we meet Lee, who is used to being at the top of everything. She works hard, because she's been told her whole life that it's the key to everything. So when she finds herself getting a job not at one of the prestigious companies she'd hoped (and assumed) for, but some unknown entity, to say she's chagrined would be an understatement. But since she is always committed to hard work and getting the job done, she grudgingly accepts her position and jumps in. What is the job, you ask? Gathering data to develop an AI to help lonely folks. Only... no one has heard of "loneliness". It simply is not a concept people in this society know. Sure, it requires a bit of suspension of disbelief, but it is quite worth doing.

But... it is something they experience, even if they don't have a word for the feeling. And it is very interesting to watch Lee, who has never really considered her need for people and community, to discover that maybe life is better with friends. There is a bit of a mystery undertone too, and I think I might have expected a bit more from it? In fairness, I thought that Loneliness & Company had all kinds of dark, seedy secrets that it just.... didn't. I was too suspicious of the book, if that is a thing that is possible. I don't have any idea if the book wanted me to think this or if I made it all up, so go ahead and place the blame on me here.

What I did absolutely adore was Lee figuring out who she was, what she wanted from life, and that there is a whole big world out there that doesn't just involve working oneself to death. And the adventures she goes on during her journey were wonderfully entertaining! I thought the book's messages were strong, I really enjoyed the characters and story, and ended up being quite satisfied, even though it did not quite go in the direction I expected.

Bottom Line: Doesn't matter what we call a feeling, it can eat away at us regardless. This society is about to figure that out the hard way.  

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight