The man with two brains.
The Pleasure of My Company gave me a whole new appreciation for Steve Martin. Having faded out of the limelight, it turns out that he’s been busy writing all this time. While it isn’t quite “Laugh out-loud funny”, as it’s described by Time Out on the front cover, it is a fun novel to read.
It follows the reclusive, neuroses of Daniel Pecan Cambridge from the confines of his Santa Monica apartment. A mix up at Mensa that shaved one hundred points off his IQ score means that he has a lot of time on his hands all of a sudden, which sparks the beginning of the end of his odd life in California.
With a healthy interest in the ladies, ranging from the hottie at the local Pharmacy, his pretty young therapist-in-training, the real estate lady with the “cannonball chest” that he watches from the window of his apartment and Philipa from the apartment upstairs whom he drugs on a regular basis, Daniel also has an equally life consuming interest in curbs. Stepping off one has become completely impossible for him.
There are some really witty moments in The Pleasure of My Company and Steve Martin’s writing style is a joy to read. One of the best things about it is the choice of words that never fails to impress. The characters are massively engaging and the storyline is addictive, making The Pleasure of My Company a pleasure to read, especially after the long hard slog of reading a book like The Selfish Gene just before it.
Steve Martin, The Pleasure of My Company review: 4/5
