Lena Dunham, taking full advantage of the fact that people are content-starved while social distancing, is publishing a novel. One. Chapter. At. A. Time. Verified Strangers, “a modern-day romance novel set in Los Angeles and London,” will be published piece by piece, Monday through Friday, starting today, March 23 on Vogue.com. “When I found out this virus was going to keep us in our homes for a significant period, I wondered how exactly we could create community — and for me, storytelling has always been a way to be closer to other people, even (and especially) when I’m feeling alone,” Dunham told Vogue. So, Dunham isn’t just asking you to read Verified Strangers, she’s asking you to write it. Surprise! It’s a choose-your-own-adventure-game. Well, it’s a choose Ally’s adventure game. Dunham’s main character, 32-year-old Ally, is seriously unlucky in love until a friend suggests the novel idea of only dating “verified strangers” known in the olden days as friends of friends. Every second chapter will end with a cliffhanger and a question for the audience that readers will be able to answer on Vogue’s Instagram account. Whatever they decide, Dunham will write. While most people just want you to heart-react pics of their ugly loaves of bread, Lena Dunham wants her quarantine hobby to also be your quarantine hobby. Sorry, Animal Crossing.
