Describe your latest project. Norton has just published The Autobiography of Fidel Castro, a novel that took seven years of my life to complete as I...
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To me, this quirky novel reads more like a memoir. Among various random thoughts, protaganist Howie muses about escalators, straws, ice cube trays, and why "after two years my right and left shoelaces could fail less than two days apart." Howie devotes pages and pages to shoelaces, shoe tying technique, friction on shoelaces caused by shoetying and walking....
The novel includes frequent and lengthy footnotes. Yes, footnotes! For example, in the footnote that begins on page 121 and ends on page 123 (Vintage ed.)--"... footnotes are the only form of graphic digression sanctioned by centuries of typesetters. And yet the MLA Style Sheet I owned in college warned against lengthy, "essay-like" footnotes. Were they NUTS? Where is scholarship going? (They have removed this blemish on later editions)."
The Mezzanine is definitely not your average novel!
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(4 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
To me, this quirky novel reads more like a memoir. Among various random thoughts, protaganist Howie muses about escalators, straws, ice cube trays, and why "after two years my right and left shoelaces could fail less than two days apart." Howie devotes pages and pages to shoelaces, shoe tying technique, friction on shoelaces caused by shoetying and walking....
The novel includes frequent and lengthy footnotes. Yes, footnotes! For example, in the footnote that begins on page 121 and ends on page 123 (Vintage ed.)--"... footnotes are the only form of graphic digression sanctioned by centuries of typesetters. And yet the MLA Style Sheet I owned in college warned against lengthy, "essay-like" footnotes. Were they NUTS? Where is scholarship going? (They have removed this blemish on later editions)."
The Mezzanine is definitely not your average novel!
This was Baker's first novel, and has been reprinted several times. Purchase this copy to own your own 1st edition!
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(4 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Murder, With Peacocks is the first in the thoroughly enjoyable Meg Langslow mystery series. Blacksmith Meg Lanslow returns to her small Virginia home to play maid of honor for not one, but THREE summer weddings. Not one of the weddings is likely to be "normal"-- her mother is one of the brides to be, her business partner wants ALL 600 GUESTS to wear Renaissance attire for the wedding, and her brothers' fiance plans to have peacocks strolling the grounds to add that perfect decorative touch. Add a dash (ok, more like several dollops) of certifiable relatives. And of course, fowl play! To quote a smidgen of a review from Kirkus: "half Jane Austen, half battery acid."
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(5 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
Brockmeier has created a world very similar to the world we know, only it is entirely populated by the Dead. The length that a person stays in this world is apparently determined by the "Living's" memories of loved ones, friends, and even total strangers. A world-wide pandemic is changing everything...
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(19 of 38 readers found this comment helpful)
I like this so much that I have literally read this time and again, and have recommended this to friends and family. My reading group read this at my suggestion, and everyone enjoyed it. The historic photographs and illustrations really add to the believability and enjoyment of the story. Highly recommended!
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(9 of 18 readers found this comment helpful)
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Cathy Chapman has commented on (11) products.
Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker
Cathy Chapman, October 20, 2006
To me, this quirky novel reads more like a memoir. Among various random thoughts, protaganist Howie muses about escalators, straws, ice cube trays, and why "after two years my right and left shoelaces could fail less than two days apart." Howie devotes pages and pages to shoelaces, shoe tying technique, friction on shoelaces caused by shoetying and walking....The novel includes frequent and lengthy footnotes. Yes, footnotes! For example, in the footnote that begins on page 121 and ends on page 123 (Vintage ed.)--"... footnotes are the only form of graphic digression sanctioned by centuries of typesetters. And yet the MLA Style Sheet I owned in college warned against lengthy, "essay-like" footnotes. Were they NUTS? Where is scholarship going? (They have removed this blemish on later editions)."
The Mezzanine is definitely not your average novel!
(4 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Mezzanine 1ST Edition by Nicholson Baker
Cathy Chapman, October 20, 2006
To me, this quirky novel reads more like a memoir. Among various random thoughts, protaganist Howie muses about escalators, straws, ice cube trays, and why "after two years my right and left shoelaces could fail less than two days apart." Howie devotes pages and pages to shoelaces, shoe tying technique, friction on shoelaces caused by shoetying and walking....The novel includes frequent and lengthy footnotes. Yes, footnotes! For example, in the footnote that begins on page 121 and ends on page 123 (Vintage ed.)--"... footnotes are the only form of graphic digression sanctioned by centuries of typesetters. And yet the MLA Style Sheet I owned in college warned against lengthy, "essay-like" footnotes. Were they NUTS? Where is scholarship going? (They have removed this blemish on later editions)."
The Mezzanine is definitely not your average novel!
This was Baker's first novel, and has been reprinted several times. Purchase this copy to own your own 1st edition!
(4 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
Cathy Chapman, October 14, 2006
Murder, With Peacocks is the first in the thoroughly enjoyable Meg Langslow mystery series. Blacksmith Meg Lanslow returns to her small Virginia home to play maid of honor for not one, but THREE summer weddings. Not one of the weddings is likely to be "normal"-- her mother is one of the brides to be, her business partner wants ALL 600 GUESTS to wear Renaissance attire for the wedding, and her brothers' fiance plans to have peacocks strolling the grounds to add that perfect decorative touch. Add a dash (ok, more like several dollops) of certifiable relatives. And of course, fowl play! To quote a smidgen of a review from Kirkus: "half Jane Austen, half battery acid."(5 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
The Brief History of the Dead: A Novel by Kevin Brockmeier
Cathy Chapman, September 23, 2006
Brockmeier has created a world very similar to the world we know, only it is entirely populated by the Dead. The length that a person stays in this world is apparently determined by the "Living's" memories of loved ones, friends, and even total strangers. A world-wide pandemic is changing everything...(19 of 38 readers found this comment helpful)
Time and Again by Jack Finney
Cathy Chapman, September 23, 2006
I like this so much that I have literally read this time and again, and have recommended this to friends and family. My reading group read this at my suggestion, and everyone enjoyed it. The historic photographs and illustrations really add to the believability and enjoyment of the story. Highly recommended!(9 of 18 readers found this comment helpful)
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