I want to meet Howie

 Reading the mezzanine gave me a whole new perspective on what zooming in on every aspect of life is like. I had never read a book that displayed such a point of view. I'll admit when I first started reading the mezzanine, I did not fully understand what exactly Howie was doing, but with added discussion and analysis, I began to comprehend that Howie was a man with extensive depth in his thinking. For example, the different "branches" he goes off on add intrigue and wonder to something as simple as a stapler. This book opens your eyes to a not necessarily "new" way of thinking but a different way of looking at certain aspects of daily corporate life. Many authors believe such details are trivial in novel writing and that readers will be uninterested in such tidbits. Still, in reality, these details are something lots of people relate to. These give the story a more relatable feeling. 

When I can relate to a book, my desire to read it exponentially grows. Howie, to me, was an incredibly relatable person. I saw a lot of myself in Howie as I sometimes analyze everyday occurrences. Howie dove into the most minute subjects and unraveled them into a ribbon of ideas and opinions was so interesting. After reading the mezzanine, my way of looking at certain aspects of life. I now need to delve into the finest details and extract as much information as possible to obtain the best understanding of the world around me. 

Comments

  1. Nyla Kyles September 5, 2022 at 12:25 PM

    when I first started reading the mezzanine I kind of felt the same way. After the first couple of pages I wanted to take my lighter and set that book on fire; all the tangents Howie went on really made me question what was wrong with Nicholas Baker for writing the book and what was wrong with Howie as the main character. But after some class discussions I came to realize that the way Howie thinks is very similar to how I think and walk through life. Reading the mezzanine gave me a new perspective on the everyday nuances of life.

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  2. Mikayla BlankeSeptember 12, 2022 at 10:51 AM

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  3. Mikayla BlankeSeptember 12, 2022 at 10:52 AM

    I also found that I got more into the book as I read it. While it was hard to read in the beginning, I got used to the rambling and detailed narration, and found myself getting into the mini stories Howie was telling. Yet, I'm not so sure if Howie is someone I'd want to meet... Would he be the same in true conversation, just talking about whatever comes to mind? There's little speaking in the book, so I don't think we have any way of knowing. Even so, from the mind's perspective, it was interesting to read and relate to someone else's stream of consciousness!

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  4. Kelby SvendsenSeptember 27, 2022 at 9:06 PM

    Yeah, I definitely also felt like this book helped give me a different outlook on the world around me. I started subconciously noticing tiny details about things I did and it made me become kind of spaced out or lost in thought at times. I also agree with you in that this book was a refreshing take on what a novel "should" look like and I think that despite being many decades old the book has held up and remains a book that is incredibly unique in literature.

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  5. Luke YouOctober 7, 2022 at 7:27 PM

    I also think Howie is a surprisingly relatable character in some sense of the word. Some of the things that runs through his head have also run through mine to a lesser extent. The book is like a collection of ideas that I've had but turned up to 11. And when we were writing our baker pastiche, I thought it was kind of fun trying to look at the world the way Howie does.

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  6. MitchellOctober 10, 2022 at 12:16 PM

    I agree that the novel doesn't necessarily offer a "new" way of thinking about familiar topics, but rather than it compels us to think about topics that are undeniably relevant and important but which we never focus on or talk about. He's trying to get you to SEE things that you usually don't see at all. (Can you say you SAW your shoelaces when you tied your shoes before school this morning? Or did your fingers unconsciously go through the motions without you paying any attention at all? This book at least makes us SEE the laces, in part by getting us to think about what they resemble.)

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