The Mezzanine: Inside the Human Mind
The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker is an interesting novel about a man in his early twenties named Howie who has many thoughts about everything he experiences. Howie works in the mezzanine where his office is located. On his way to his office, he rides an escalator where he experiences many thoughts about his office and the things around him. He analyzes anything from shoe laces to hand dryers and his experience in his office bathroom. He also talks about and shares opinions about the things he sees. For example, he talks about using a toaster and the different ways that you can put butter on toast (slicing tiny pieces, cutting a chunk of butter, and struggling to spread it). However, he does not stop there. He continues to talk about different aspects of toast like why cutting it diagonally is better than cutting straight across and he gives multiple reasons. At first, I was not a fan of the rants he would go on, but eventually, I realized that this is how many people think including me. Howie just writes all his thoughts out on paper and goes into great detail in footnotes that can be almost a page long. He seems to value the little things in life and does not like to rush through experiences. He also tends to find significance in anything even if it's as small as a shoelace.
My favorite part about this book was how it was slightly relatable. Howie would occasionally rant about things he does not like which I can find myself doing at times. Howie's most relatable take, in my opinion, was the idea that paper towels are more useful than hand dryers. He talked about how hand dryers never seem to fully dry your hands which I fully agree with. Howie also argues that using those dryers takes longer than grabbing a paper towel, and you can also use paper towels for other things besides hand drying. I thought it was interesting that he had so many thoughts about parts of everyday life. The fact that all of these different thoughts occurred on an escalator ride was particularly amusing and added a sense of humor to this novel. Another interesting aspect of this book was the way Howie seemed to remember and pay attention to random details that most people would not give a second thought. For example, he remembered the small box of text on the hand dryers in his office bathroom. I've seen the text many times but I never would have thought about it during my day. In general, Howie has a somewhat unique way of thinking which made The Mezzanine a very interesting read.
I agree, Howie's relatableness is one of the key qualities that everyone likes about Baker's character. Although his rants can seem long and dense to some people, people who relate to his tangents find them funny, interesting, and amusing. I think this speaks to the overarching idea that the more relatable a character is, the more the reader will continue reading the book. I think this is largely true for every type of fiction. Overall great post!
ReplyDeleteI found Howie more than just slightly relatable to me. I find him quite relatable and would be way more if I was an adult and living when it was written or a few years after.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that you bring up that these moments that Howie decides to address aren't ones that are intentionally unique to his experience, as typical narratives attempt to do. Rather, Howie tackles the explicit description of moments that so many of us experience, and it can be so much more rewarding sometimes to read an eloquent description of moments that we can't express instead of reading a description of a mildly more interesting even that is unique to one person and therefore doesn't really resonate with many at all. I liked this post a lot!
ReplyDeleteChizara, nice post! I also find this book to be very relatable for me, too. I like to think of this book as the thoughts of one man in the world who is no different than literally any other man in the world put down on paper in excessive detail. Because these thoughts occur faster than you can probably blink, and in this book, Howie's thoughts are slowed down, and are explained in detail. I find Howie to be relatable for me, because there are some things in this world that I obsess over for absolutely no reason, and if I were to put those thoughts down on paper, people may think those thoughts are strange, which they are. If I read back those thoughts that I had, I may think my thoughts are weird, too. Howie even acknowledges that later in the book. This was a nice blog post!
ReplyDeleteI agree that The Mezzanine is a very interesting novel to read due to Howie's thoughts but I think that it is not exactly because of the uniqueness of Howie's thoughts, but instead the depth to which he goes in each of these thoughts. This aspect is the same one that makes his comments so relatable: we all tend to think mundane thoughts from time to time similar to those about shoe laces or hair dryers, but we differ from Howie in our exploration of those thoughts. For example, we may brush off a passing thought about something we find unimportant, but instead of doing this, Howie leans into this thought and conjures up a whole description about his findings and opinions on these minor thoughts. This strategy, relying on minor thoughts that any person may think makes the story both interesting and relatable. This was a great blog post!
ReplyDeleteWhy do Howie's thoughts intrigue us so much? They are so mundane yet so deeply explored and contain lessons for Howie to discover. Thus, Howie is relatable in the way he thinks about mundane things, but different in the depth he explores his daily thoughts. But why does he think so deeply? Is it his method to cope with how boring his office job is?
ReplyDeleteI like that you use the word "rant" to describe Howie's extended tangents. At first glance, they might not seem like "rants," in that they are carefully crafted, written, not spontaneous or especially emotional. But he DOES get a bunch of his narrative momentum from working up a good rant, and I for one can easily relate to this tendency. What makes Howie's rants especially funny (to me) is that they tend to be about things we likely haven't heard ranted about before--we don't need another "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" screed. But I do really enjoy when Howie works up his mock-outrage over something like whether people choose to walk or "ride" the escalator, and he breaks into "What are we doing here, people? This is madness!" mode. It's kind of funny to imagine all of us walking around every day, locked and loaded to delve into rants on a range of topics, at the slightest provocation.
ReplyDeleteI liked your mention that you would not have thought about the familiar writing on the hand dryers any time besides when you are placed in front of one. It brings up a phenomenon that is constantly displayed in The Mezzanine, where the objects or details he rants about are ones that we tend to notice subconsciously. I can not remember a time when I consciously thought about the shape of a doorknob, yet I still have vivid memories of the shape and feeling of different types. Reading descriptive summaries of these details showed me how many observations I make subconsciously. I think that it is a very universal experience, and makes the book very relatable! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI loved your reflection on the Mezzanine, Chizara! I can completely relate to the initial frustration with the rants. While they were interesting, occasionally they would be a bit hard to read through, and I’d find myself going on rants either praising or despising them. I particularly like how you highlighted how Howie observes and emphasizes the things that we may come across hundreds of times, like the lettering on the hand dryers, but consistently overlook. The Mezzanine was refreshing and allows all of its readers to slow down and appreciate our lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about the important function of relatability. Without instances of humorous relatability, The Mezzanine would be an utterly boring series of mundane observations. Relatability adds the human touch that really makes the novel "work".
ReplyDelete