The Pleasure of My Company - Hardcover

Martin, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786869216 ISBN 13: 9780786869213

Publisher: Hachette Books, 2003

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of Shopgirl comes the tender story of a troubled man who finds love, and life, in the most unexpected place.

Daniel resides in his Santa Monica apartment, living much of his life as a bystander: He watches from his window as the world goes by, and his only relationships seem to be with people who barely know he exists. He passes the time idly filling out contest applications, counting ceiling tiles, and estimating the wattage of light bulbs.

It is through Daniel's growing attachment to Clarissa, and to Teddy, that he finally gains the courage to begin to engage the world outside, and in doing so, he discovers love, and life, in the most surprising places.

Filled with his trademark humor, tenderness, and out and out hilarious wordplay, The Pleasure of My Company is a tour de force sure to delight all of Steve Martin's fans.

About this title

Review:

Of all the celebrities who've tackled novels in recent years, one of the most conspicuously successful in the field is comic actor Steve Martin. In books such as Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Shopgirl, Martin showed the same dazzling wordplay that marks his film and TV work, and his new novel, The Pleasure of My Company, builds on the earlier work to produce a book that is both effortlessly entertaining and beautifully wrought.

Martin's protagonist is Daniel Pecan Cambridge, a thirtyish loser whose life is wrecked by a whole slew of neurotic compulsions and tics. The small, irrational fears that plague most of us are the bane of Daniel's life, but he resolves to shed these straitjackets and move into something like normality. One of his aims is a normal relationship with a woman and there are several potential targets in sight: his therapist Clarissa, struggling to relieve him of his demons, Zandy, the beguiling assistant in the chemist's shop, and Elizabeth, selling apartments in his street.

But his compulsions are only one of his problems; his neighbour Bob has been murdered and Daniel is in the frame for the crime. The attention of the media seems set to keep him living an abnormal life for quite some time, which might undercut his hopes of winning the "Most Average American" competition.

Novels by comedians can often collapse into a series of one-liners, and while there are some zingers here, Martin is a real novelist--this quirky black comedy has both a solidly realised structure and a sharply etched cast. Daniel is a wonderfully characterised anti-hero--a natural, perhaps, for Martin himself to play when the inevitable movie is made. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

Martin' s prose shows that he still has comic talent to burn. (THE TIMES)

Witty, wry, clever and ultimately uplifting, this is a work of real talent. (SHE)

This svelte and wickedly funny novel. (DAILY MAIL)

a string of entertaining, Martin-style riffs about a retarded man trying to get a date. (THE INDEPENDENT)

The poised prose and acute humour make this an immensely entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny read. (THE OBSERVER)

'Don't miss out on an extraordinary outing. (DUBLIN EVENING HERALD)

A gentle tale with the premise that no man is an island. (THE SCOTSMAN)

About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0786869216
• ISBN 13: 9780786869213
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 163