World Famous Comics: Pleasure of My Company, The: A Novella
Pleasure of My Company, The: A Novella
By: Steve Martin Publisher: Hyperion Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Hyperion Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 176 Publication Date: October 06, 2004 Release Date: October 06, 2004
Product Description: Readers expecting something zany, something crudely humorous from Steve Martin's second novel, The Pleasure of My Company, will discover much greater riches. While the book has a sense of humor, Martin moves everywhere with a gentler, lighter touch in this elegant little fiction that verges on the profound and poetic. Daniel Pecan Cambridge is the narrator and central consciousness of the novel (actually a novella). Daniel, an ex-Hewlett-Packard communiqu+¬ encoder, is a savant whose closely proscribed world is bounded on every side by neuroses and obsessions. He cannot cross the street except at driveways symmetrically opposed to each, and he cannot sleep unless the wattage of the active light bulbs in his apartment sums to 1,125. Daniel's starved social life is punctuated by twice-weekly visits from a young therapist in training, Clarissa; by his prescription pick-ups from a Rite Aid pharmacist, Zandy; and by his "casual" meetings with the bleach-blond real estate agent, Elizabeth, who is struggling to sell apartments across the street. But Daniel's dysfunctional routines are shattered one day when he becomes entangled in the chaos of Clarissa's life as a single mother. Taking care of Clarissa's tiny son, Teddy, Daniel begins to emerge from the safety of logic, magic squares, and obsessive counting. Martin's craftsmanship is remarkable. The tightly packed novella paints rich portraits with restraint and balance, including nothing extraneous to Daniel's world. The book does not try for pyrotechnics but is contented with a Zen-like simplicity in both prose and plot. Avoiding the crushing bleakness of much contemporary fiction, Martin insists through Daniel--a man haunted by horrors of his own making--that there is possibility for compassion, that broken lives can actually be healed. --Patrick O'Kelley
Amazon.com: Readers expecting something zany, something crudely humorous from Steve Martin's second novel, The Pleasure of My Company, will discover much greater riches. While the book has a sense of humor, Martin moves everywhere with a gentler, lighter touch in this elegant little fiction that verges on the profound and poetic.
Daniel Pecan Cambridge is the narrator and central consciousness of the novel (actually a novella). Daniel, an ex-Hewlett-Packard communiqué encoder, is a savant whose closely proscribed world is bounded on every side by neuroses and obsessions. He cannot cross the street except at driveways symmetrically opposed to each, and he cannot sleep unless the wattage of the active light bulbs in his apartment sums to 1,125. Daniel's starved social life is punctuated by twice-weekly visits from a young therapist in training, Clarissa; by his prescription pick-ups from a Rite Aid pharmacist, Zandy; and by his "casual" meetings with the bleach-blond real estate agent, Elizabeth, who is struggling to sell apartments across the street. But Daniel's dysfunctional routines are shattered one day when he becomes entangled in the chaos of Clarissa's life as a single mother. Taking care of Clarissa's tiny son, Teddy, Daniel begins to emerge from the safety of logic, magic squares, and obsessive counting.
Martin's craftsmanship is remarkable. The tightly packed novella paints rich portraits with restraint and balance, including nothing extraneous to Daniel's world. The book does not try for pyrotechnics but is contented with a Zen-like simplicity in both prose and plot. Avoiding the crushing bleakness of much contemporary fiction, Martin insists through Daniel--a man haunted by horrors of his own making--that there is possibility for compassion, that broken lives can actually be healed. --Patrick O'Kelley
Wild and Crazy OCD Guy! The Pleasure of My Company is a funny novella by famed comedian Steve Martin. Who can forget the arrow in the head and the King Tut song. Now in his 60's, Martin is pursuing other outlets with novels and plays. This is the first of his novels that I have read and I plan to take on the others. I highly recommend the audio version, where Martin reads with great precision, and without the un-neccesary drama and voices for the supporting characters.
Our protanganist Daniel Pecan Cambridge has many phobias and compulsions. He lives alone in a forlorn Santa Monica apartment, trapped by his fear of curbs, unbalanced lighting, and anything not ironed. He is simultaneously pursuing several women, including his social worker, his pharmacist, an aspiring actress/neighbor, and a realtor. None of this is going anywhere, loneliness and despair are becoming more prominent.
Then Cambridge has several life-enhancing experiences. He writes two of the best essays in a contest sponsored by a frozen pie company, he inadvertently becomes part of the life of a one year old boy, and he has several casual encounters with the realtor and the pharmacist. A trip home to Texas starts things changing and ultimately Cambridge sheds and transfers his obsessions.
This is a good read, funny yet meaningful. I recommend it for a day at the beach.
Cute story - great read What a cute story about a "challenged" 28, 33, 37(?) year old man who learns life (in its broadest meaning) by human interaction. It's a transformation from a scared, lonely individual to a social, loving and loved man.
In addition to a great story, it is written in a very humorous and skeptical at times way.
Get a copy - read it!
An enjoyable read - insights into OCD I don't know if Steve Martin has expert knowledge in obsessive compulsive disorder but if he does this may be an enlightening read. More so than watching the funny view of it from shows like "Monk." For the lead character, the OCD is rooted in deeper issues. The character essentially learns to manage his behavior; I don't know if that's valid but it's a hopeful thought that someone's answers could lie outside of pharmaceuticals.
Overall I enjoyed this book although the beginning was pretty slow - I dozed off so perhaps that's why I didn't pick up on the OCD until later in the book.
If it weren't for the slow beginning I would have gone with a 5 star rating. The book is short, which earns a star in my book off the bat. I enjoy the characters and Steve Martin's subtle humor and succinct descriptions and language.
The audiobook version is read by the author, which I really enjoyed. You just feel like you're getting the full experience. Like sitting with the chef in the kitchen while he cooks. I encourage all to seek out this experience if you listen to audiobooks. The audio version is also embellished by music and some interesting singer doing some New Age kind of scat that somehow grows on you.
A Sweet Little Story I think those who go into this book (which I actually did by 'audio' during my hellacious commute) thinking 'it's written by Steve Martin: it'll be funny' is making a mistake. For the first quarter of the story, I thought the same thing - and mistakenly thought 'Steve Martin is making fun of someone with these mental challenges'. Wrong!
This is a charming little story about someone whose mental challenges are never defined, but he certainly suffers from OCD. He's also a mathematical genius. His trains of thought are sometimes humorous, but I never laughed out loud.
Daniel's story reminded me of A Confederacy of Dunces and The Catcher in the Rye in that all three stories are about young men who are profoundly alienated from society. Daniel, at least, is trying to take steps to overcome his compulsions and join society...
I listened to Martin's Born Standing Up just before PLEASURE and heard a bit of auto-biography in it as well. The incident Daniel relates from his childhood of his father beating him (and the resulting alienation of father and son) is almost word for word from BORN. Martin is also a Texan who moves to California. Where he got the rest of the story is anyone's guess.
OCD - Outstanding, Comical, Delightful! How Martin weaves OCD, a pie company essay contest, a student shrink, a toddler, a Rite-Aid pharmacist, and Magic Squares into such a touching and brilliant novella is amazing. Highly recommend.
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