The Pleasure of My Company

There are times when read a book that seems so painfully ordinary that you wonder why you even made it to the last page. I thought this was going to be one of those books until I took my first deep breath upon finishing it. A story of a man with a seemingly un-ending list of obsessions, peculiarities, neuroses, et. al. How could any of us not relate?

All of us likely have a trigger that, if discovered, would snap our lives into focus. For Daniel Pecan Cambridge, it is Teddy, the son of his former psychology-intern counselor. Teddy is also proof that we cannot understand or guess the influence an action today will have on our life of the future - enter Zandy, the pharmacist at Daniel's local Rite Aid. With love and purpose, even the most slippery of the slopes toward insanity can be overcome. Finding love isn't the hard part; we can put that emotion onto anyone, regardless of whether it is returned. Finding purpose is more difficult, and perhaps it takes someone of Daniel's idiosyncracies to find it. I know there are many days when I am left searching.

This book was a pleasant surprise for me - I have never read Steve Martin. He has been highly recommended and I'm glad I finally took the time. The entire text is obviously written by someone who has an eye for describing what he wants the reader to see. Part of the narrative to me seemed like stage directions. “The Pleasure of My Company” reads almost like a sequel to Martin's movie “LA Story”.

Most definitely a good summer read for those just wanting to pass time or for those who long to wax poetic about the progress of their lives. That's a difficult line for a book to walk, yet Martin does it with ease.