Rating: 
Summary: Get on the court in life!
Review: While I haven't read Steve Martin's first book, this book was horrible! I'm not interested in the thoughts and delusions of this character who's obsessions and psychoses rule his boring, mundane life. I'd rather read about someone who gets on the court and plays the game of life, not someone who lets life pass them by.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I loved this book, it was fun, interesting and kept my attention. I didn't realize who wrote it at first. I'm very impressed!
Rating:
Summary: THE PERFECT NOVELLA & A PLEASURE TO READ
Review: Steve Martin has written the perfect novel here: Compelling, witty, gentle, and pure joy to read. Anyone tired of crime and violence novels will love Daniel Cambridge, Martin's first person character in PLEASURE. Though his mental stability keeps him confined to out of work status at his California apartment, Daniel finds attractive elements in each of the women he desires. Charming them each in his non-aggressive way, Daniel eventually finds the love of his life through selfless, altruistic acts by merely being his sweet self. Martin seems to know much about women with his honest observations and descriptions of their inner and outer beauty. You almost wish he would pass along his secret to being a gentleman, but he is subtler than that. Quite simply, Daniel is a man you wish you knew in real life.What is delightful about this novel beyond the brilliant prose and soothing descriptions, is knowing that when Steve Martin tires of acting we will be enjoying his novels. I have been a Steve Martin fan for years, reading most of his offbeat books, and listening to all of his comedy albums. I found SHOP GIRL to be a surprisingly fun novel to read. Martin has raised the bar for himself with PLEASURE and I look forward to additional, and longer stories. Steve Martin is truly a talent to be cherished. Read this book. You'll be glad you did. Steve, write more and longer books!
Rating:
Summary: wow. he can write, too...
Review: Steve Martin may be known for his acting and comedy, but he should not be discounted for his writing. He translates well from one role to the next. I was a bit hesitant at first, but his success as a screenwriter/playwright convinced me to try his fiction. I was not disappointed. Although the story is short, its characters are so fresh and real that you wish the book had more pages. Martin's portrayal of obsessive-compulsive behavior was so hilarious and dead-on that I wondered if he had been studying me.
You can read this book in one sitting, and you will enjoy the story and Martin's intelligent writing.
rdnewman.com
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: Read this book! It's fun and quirky lead, Daniel, is plagued with neurosis both hilarious and disconcerting...A short read, but well worth the money...It will bring a smile to your face...
Rating:
Summary: A pecaned slice of life.
Review: Being named after a nut or "human error" dulling his Mensa score are part of the typical day for Daniel Pecan Cambridge, but his story is not your typical read. It's a knotted twist on what defines "normal" and maneuvering the curbs along the way. Daniel lives life mainly in his head, entertaining himself (and the reader) with wonders of minutia. In less talented hands than writer/actor Martin, Daniel might come across menacing; the "elixirs" served to the starlet in his building somehow taste like a kindness, an ear listening, an eye seeing some inner magestic...just like Daniel would like to be seen. He's awarded with "Most Average American" - not bad for someone who knows that acoustical ceiling tiles contain 64 sound-absorbing holes; a bright fellow who's apartment's total light wattage must be exactly 1125. Judge only if you don't care how your towels are folded OR if your remote control doesn't have it's "spot" to rest. This story, Martin's second novel, shines a ray on one idea clearly: No matter how secular, aloof or protected someone designs their path to be, life has a way of serpentining in and wrapping around "the quiet heart." "One half of my face was shut like a salted snail, while the other half was held open in an attempt to see." With THAT eye, introduce yourself to The Pleasure Of My Company. --Laurel825
Rating:
Summary: A Jewel
Review: I love this book. Steve Martin continually amazes me with his ability to describe people through all their little pecadillos. When you read Martin's descriptions of people you inevitably say "I know someone just like that...I just didn't know how to describe them!" For anyone that has read Pure Drivel or seen LA Story you know that much of Martin's work centers around popular culture and LA. These characters could not exist without the social/ geographic/psychological landscape of LA. Steve Martin has always had a love/hate relationship with the city and he plays it out here. In a world where someone like Daniel would never be considered a winner, this little book proves those views wrong. I like that this book is able to have depth without stooping to "sappiness". It embraces the inherit funniness of doing silly, pathetic things and by doing so Martin gives his characters a depth, a warmth, a humanity that is often lacking in books today where both the narrator/author and the characters they describe are so blissfully ignorant of their own state in the universe that you can have no love or empathy for them. You will not find that kind of hyperbole here. This is territory he covered in Shopgirl, another gem. Some stories imprint themselves upon you and remind you to look at your own life and the lives around you more carefully, to pick up all those little cues to character and dare I say moral fiber that often go unnoticed in a world where louder is seemingly always better; to form a story from these descriptions, step back and realize something profound about relationships. Steve Martin has not forgotten to look.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is an excellent book that I hated to see end! Steve Martin fully captured the humanity of his lead character Daniel and in a poignant, yet at times, witty way. I would highly recomment this book!
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Show of Martin's Talents
Review: I absolutely hated Shopgirl and am amazed that some reviewers are mentioning these two books in the same sentence. To me, The Pleasure of My Company is Martin near his finest, while Shopgirl is Martin near his worst (see my review there). I think in this book Martin lets us know his characters through their actions (or, in Daniel's case, his inaction), rather than long, blatant descriptions of motivations (Shopgirl -- yuk). I found the book paced well for its subject, and the connection of other characters to Daniel necessary as well as unique. The only criticism I have for it is that Martin now seems to rush the ending of his books, but, given the routine bizarre happenings in Daniel's life, here it was at least made believable, and I think cleverly so. Overall, Martin has delivered on a book that I found to be poignant, with touches of his wonderful sense of humor. It is solidly crafted and worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Peculiar, heart-felt (and sometime laugh out loud funny)
Review: Steve Martin's "Shopgirl" was a thoughtful, deliberate, and surprisingly tender novella. His second, "The Pleasure of My Company", is lighter and joyfully funnier, with an indefatiguable sweetness that spans the entirety of the novel. If you liked "Shopgirl", you'll love "PoMC". If you tried "Shopgirl" but wished for more of Martin's legendary sense of humor, try "PoMC" and you won't be disappointed.
| 
