THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY, by Steve Martin, Hyperion, 163 pages, $19.95.
Three years after the success of his delightful novella, "Shopgirl," comic actor Steve Martin has written a second, "The Pleasure of My Company."
This one is the literary story of Daniel Pecan Cambridge, a young man reminiscent of TV's "Monk" (the detective who is often thrown off course by his obsessive-compulsive behavior). Cambridge's tics and antics are different than Monk's — but they are just as inhibiting.
Daniel cannot, for instance, get into an elevator. He cannot stay in a hotel in a room higher than the third floor. He cannot use a public toilet. He has an aversion to anyone wearing a blue hat. He finds it impossible to cross the street at the corners.
The character also has a counting compulsion. He divides his ceiling into 64 sections (sometimes irregular sections just to annoy himself), then he halves them again and again. After that, he slices up the three-dimensional space in his mind, "making the numbers unmanageable very quickly." He also focuses on tires, vases, plates, lawns and living rooms, then dissects them and strings them with imaginary grids.
Possibly his oddest compulsion is his need for balance in the lighting in any room. He must have a grand sum of 1,125 watts in his apartment. When a girl visits his apartment and finds the lights too bright, he turns out three 60-watt bulbs in one room, then, in the kitchen, turns on a 100-watt bulb, a 50-watt bulb and two 15s, "in order to maintain equity."
Obviously, Daniel is better off never leaving his Santa Monica apartment. So he mostly stays in. As strange and funny as this character is, Martin forces him to interact with people, even young women, and the result is both amusing and sad.
The story is not laugh-out-loud funny, and it gets more and more serious and gentle as it progresses. This is a story about overcoming loneliness and engaging with the world.
One day, while visiting the Rite-Aid drugstore, something Daniel does very carefully, he sees the announcement of a contest, sponsored by Tepperton's Frozen Apple Pies, to find "the most average American," based on a two-page essay. Because Daniel thinks it is silly to think that Santa Monica would produce average people — and because he can get a longer glimpse at the very cute pharmacist, Zandy, he grabs an entry form.
When he gets home, he writes the essay — and then, just for kicks, he writes a second one under the assumed-name Lenny Burns, and sends them both in. Ironically, both Daniel and Lenny are finalists in the contest, along with Keven Chen, Sue Dowd and Danny Pepelow.
The shocker is that Daniel is actually No. 1, and is entitled to $5,000. And, of course, he worries about what will happen when the contest people discover there is no Lenny Burns.
But the thing that substantially changes Daniel's life is the death of his loving granny. To find out more, you have to read the book. It's worth it. Martin's use of language is especially inventive, even fascinating. He uses words and phrases that seem thoroughly original and the result is writing that is a pleasure to read.
Martin's talent is genuine.
E-mail: dennis@desnews.com