Random Review: The Pleasure of My Company

This book is weird.

The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

Daniel Pecan Cambridge has a lot of rules for his life. Many of them, added together, mean it’s not really worth his while to leave the house most days. Instead, he watches the world from his window and reflects on what he sees. His limited sphere includes realtors and pharmacists to crush on, an actress neighbor to socialize with, subsidies from a Texan grandmother which Daniel finds shameful, and a social worker who becomes something more of a catalyst. This is the story of how Daniel Pecan Cambridge gets what other people would consider “a life”.

Firstly, let me clarify that unlike many Muggles in the world I do not use “weird” as a pejorative. Weird is interesting, weird is intriguing. Weird gets my attention. This book was so dryly funny, so clever and unassuming in assembling a plot, I loved it! It is as though the story is obscured by water, with only the unconnected islands of Daniel Pecan Cambridge’s musings floating here and there in a dark sea. Gradually, the water recedes and it becomes more apparent with each passing moment how these events and his reflections are not only connected in the continent of his life, but are acting to change him into someone who is more than just an observer.

Though I may have made it sound serious, this is not a serious book. Serious things happen, but the book itself is hilarious. I passed it on to a friend after I finished and we still quote passages that make us laugh three months later.

Chair Rating:

Unexpected, delightful, initially deceptive.