Red’s Book Reviews: The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

This novella is about a man in his late twenties early thirties – hard to know which because he tells other characters different ages throughout the story – who “suffers” from some sort of personality disorder – likely OCD and perhaps some sort of autism. His life revolves around a bizarre yet strict set of rules such as not stepping off of curbs onto the street. It’s an enlightening glimpse into how seemingly normal people battle mental illness – the main character appropriately wins an essay contest with the theme of persuading the reader that the writer is the most “Average American.” The conflict of the story is can the main character overcome his debilitating issues. The story is written with sincerity, sarcasm and humor all wrapped together. One thing of note is that I struggled to divorce the main character from being Steve Martin. It must because I am more aware of the personality of the writer than in other books. The only other time I’ve encountered a similar issue is when Chuck Klosterman wrote the fiction novel “Downtown Owl.” I’ve read so much of his non-fiction, that I just heard that voice/person in all his characters.

Up next: The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs