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xiindiie's review against another edition
4.0
It probably took a genius to make a mundane day amusing and full of acute observations.
tumblehawk's review against another edition
5.0
Nobody told me anything about this book. Someone whose opinion I deeply respect told me to read it. So I bought it. And I read it. I suggest you do the same. It reminded me about the importance of slowing down and finding joy in small things, including in the process of reading itself. One word at a time.
bhaines's review against another edition
Really liked this. This is what it's like to be in this guy's head. And more generally, this is what it's like to have a mind and to live in a world full of other people who have internal lives that are totally unknowable. Also funny.
fendeviper's review against another edition
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
jmullenbach's review against another edition
5.0
This book was revolutionary for me. If you are a person who even slightly enjoys thinking about the billions of tiny details that make up everyday life, you will probably thoroughly enjoy this novel.
I was browsing TV tropes one day, as one does. For some reason I had been thinking about works that take place over really short time spans, and of course there's a short time span page on TV tropes, where I found this novel listed, with apparently the shortest time span in the list.
This is only sort of true. You can argue that the time span is over the course of a single elevator ride, but the narrator reminisces over many years of past experience in the book. To say it has a short time span is like saying it doesn't have a plot, which is like, vacuously true. The point is that the novel was exactly what I wanted and more.
It's an examination of the minutiae of our lives, and how everything simple is actually complex, but in a good and fascinating way. It's about industrial design and mechanical engineering and lay psychology and cognitive science and what would happen if you thought a lot more about things that you generally only think a little about. It's also about how to put on deodorant after you already tucked your shirt in. It's like the anti-Freakonomics, which claims that things are interesting because they have a "hidden side" to them. In the Mezzanine, things are interesting because they just plainly are, on the face of it. Like, just look around you, pick an object, and think for even thirty seconds about where it came from, how many people were involved, the human effort that probably went into that object. I can't claim to know Baker's intention with this book, but to me, it acts as a celebration and appreciation of life in its most basic components. It's beautiful, and a pleasure to read.
I was browsing TV tropes one day, as one does. For some reason I had been thinking about works that take place over really short time spans, and of course there's a short time span page on TV tropes, where I found this novel listed, with apparently the shortest time span in the list.
This is only sort of true. You can argue that the time span is over the course of a single elevator ride, but the narrator reminisces over many years of past experience in the book. To say it has a short time span is like saying it doesn't have a plot, which is like, vacuously true. The point is that the novel was exactly what I wanted and more.
It's an examination of the minutiae of our lives, and how everything simple is actually complex, but in a good and fascinating way. It's about industrial design and mechanical engineering and lay psychology and cognitive science and what would happen if you thought a lot more about things that you generally only think a little about. It's also about how to put on deodorant after you already tucked your shirt in. It's like the anti-Freakonomics, which claims that things are interesting because they have a "hidden side" to them. In the Mezzanine, things are interesting because they just plainly are, on the face of it. Like, just look around you, pick an object, and think for even thirty seconds about where it came from, how many people were involved, the human effort that probably went into that object. I can't claim to know Baker's intention with this book, but to me, it acts as a celebration and appreciation of life in its most basic components. It's beautiful, and a pleasure to read.
gsroney's review against another edition
4.0
As an experimental novel, with the full length of it taking place only during the ascent of one man on an escalator, it's rather interesting and triumphant. And Baker's ability to beautifully and matter-of-factly write about extremely mundane aspects of life in ways that are extremely relatable and almost meditative (and it is no coincidence that our hero is carrying with him a copy of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations with him) is impressive. However, it takes a great deal of patience to read a plotless novel, composed mostly of footnotes, in which the major action is a contemplation about milk cartons vs glass bottles and the frustration about plastic straws floating in cans of soda.
fendeviper's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
moonshake's review against another edition
4.0
the part where L. takes tweezers to tamp in the narrator's ear plugs and says "See? Do you see how much I love you?" is really funny. also the stuff about getting stupid and being okay with it. the part about "how many times do I think of this thing a year" is dead out of my life and yeah bye who am i talking to