LONELINESS & COMPANY

Charlee Dyroff is a writer from Boulder, Colorado. Her work has appeared in Guernica, Slate, Lapham’s Quarterly, the Southwest Review, and more. One of her essays was selected for The Best American Food Writing of 2019. Her debut novel, Loneliness & Company, will be published in 2024.

“Dyroff’s near future-set book is a bewitching story about technology and isolation. It will grip readers with mesmerizing writing and a tautly-paced plot.” ―Debutiful, “Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2024”

“A sharply etched and strangely propulsive story about artificial intelligence and authentic feeling: a canny, tender exploration of the stories we tell about our bonds with each other, and the realities we’d rather not face about our bonds with the technologies that shape our days.” ―Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy Exams and Make It Scream, Make It Burn

“Naturally intelligent. An inventive, timely, and perceptive story about human connection and being alive.” ―Emily Austin, author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead

“Tender and hopeful, Dyroff’s story glimmers with humor, empathy, and profound insights into the inner workings of the human heart and psyche. Her vision is utterly singular, captivating, and full of heart, reminding us of the incalculable intimacies of being alive.” ―Gina Chung, author of Sea Change

“Dyroff’s novel brilliantly uses a futuristic, slightly off-kilter world to highlight the absurdity and pain of our current reality … Dyroff has pulled off a truly impressive feat―writing a story about loneliness that isn’t so much a cautionary tale, but a tender, heartfelt reminder to value your time on Earth and the people that make your days more than just a sunrise and a sunset. A new and talented writer to watch.” ―Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of Pizza Girl

Please note: some of these questions contain spoilers.

1. Throughout the novel, Lee refers to her parents by their first names, Greg and Cindy, often reflecting on how she wants to be different from them. Does this signify something about their relationship? How would you describe Lee’s feelings about her parents?
2. When she finally learns about the project that the Company who hired her is working on, Lee thinks to herself, “If you don’t name something, can you identify it? If you never learn an emotion, can you feel it?” What does this novel suggest are the repercussions of not having the word to describe an emotion like loneliness?
3. Lee runs and jogs throughout the novel. She goes on a running date, runs to get exercise, to explore her new city, but also as an escape from the confusion of her mind. Have you ever used physical activity as a distraction from your thoughts like Lee does?
4. When Janet sees her former mentor’s name unexpectedly, it affects her physically, like a punch in the chest. Has reading someone’s name ever made you feel this way? Why do you think she reacted so strongly to just seeing his name?
5. When Lee agrees to wear the watch tracking her every emotion and bodily process, it makes her feel uneasy. How would you feel if your watch could track so much of you, not just your heart rate and blood oxygen level, but your very thoughts on how you are experiencing the world?
6. How is Lee’s world the same as our own? How is it different? Do you see our world becoming more like Lee’s?
7. Do you agree that the project shouldn’t have gone forward, even when it was getting so close to being able to offer a solution to loneliness? Do you think people could benefit from feeling like they have someone to talk to, even if that person isn’t real?
8. Why do you think the watch made Lee go so far out of her comfort zone and do crazy things she had never done before? Do you think our devices make us do things we might not otherwise do if we weren’t being tracked?
9. Why do you think Lee decided to open an old-fashioned restaurant instead of following her old dream of working for one of the Big Five Companies? Did the ending surprise you?
10. 10.Do you think Lee is less lonely at the end of the novel than she was at the beginning? What about the other characters working on the project, Chris, Janet, and Toru?

Recommended reading:

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Among Others by Jo Walton
The Resisters by Gish Jen

Author Essay & Recipe

Lee’s Peanut Butter Toast with Chocolate Sauce

A Recipe by Charlee Dyroff, Author of Loneliness & Company

What’s the simplest form of delight? Bread that’s been heated just enough to change its name. At least, that’s what Lee, the narrator of my novel, Loneliness & Company, discovers when she visits her soon-to-be-favorite diner for the first time and orders toast.

Lee’s toast order is a bit unusual, though: peanut butter with chocolate sauce. It’s an accident, based on what she thinks she should order, but throughout the book it becomes something she craves.

It’s difficult to explain where this particular idea came from. I could tell you a story about how my brother and I used to eat stacks of cinnamon toast at my dad’s house growing up, and how toast became, unconsciously, a comfort food for me.

I could admit to you that, for as long as I can remember, I’ve always craved chocolate. (In college, I kept a Costco-sized bag of chocolate chips in our kitchen, where the drunkest people would come over late-night, asking for a handful.) Or, how I was so picky as a child that the only sandwich my mom and stepmom could get me to eat was peanut butter with mini chocolate chips.

Somewhere in the lives I’ve lived, peanut butter and chocolate and toast have been swirling. But I didn’t actually try them together until Lee ordered it in an early draft of this novel, surprising us both. It’s more her food than mine.

I think one reason Lee begins to crave this toast is because it connects her to the world of the diner, away from her research and Screens. It’s also the first time in a while that she pays attention to what she’s eating. I hope you, too, can step away from your computer, from your phone, and enjoy the textures and flavors of this simple recipe.

Ingredients:

What you need:

Bread

Peanut Butter (smooth or crunchy)

Chocolate sauce

What to leave behind:

Your phone, your laptop (place it in another room)

Step 1: Find some bread! Any bread will do, but if there’s a local bakery nearby I recommend stopping in. Maybe the owner will be there, or one of the bakers, and you can get to know them over time. A nod or smile between strangers can go a long way.

Step 2: At home, place a slice of bread in a toaster, toaster oven, or—if you live in a city like me and counter space is sacred—pop it in the oven on a sheet pan.

Step 3: When burnt to your liking, toss the bread on a plate and open a jar of peanut butter. Slather it on slowly, spreading to the edges as it melts.

Step 4: Lift a bottle or jar or spoon of chocolate sauce high above the slice and watch it fall, drizzling on top. Does a spiral speak to you? Squiggly chaos? Or are you more a smiley-face type? Remember, less is more.

Step 5: Take a bite while the toast is still warm. Then another and another. Close your eyes. Let the flavors float into one another, into you. Open your eyes and let the world in.