While reading “The Mezzanine” this summer, one particular passage caught my eye, and I think I reread it at least three or four times. It was Howie’s footnote on straws, starting on page four and continuing onto page five. It intrigued me, because of the amount of history it included. I have no memory of paper straws to begin with, not to mention “floating straws,” which required you “to bend low to the table and grasp the almost horizontal straw with your lips, steering it back down into the can every time you wanted a sip” (Baker, 4).
It is quite possible the reason this footnote stuck with me is that it is the first real view the reader gets of the detailed examinations Howie will give every seemingly mundane object. Yes, the first page or so preceding the footnote gives a good sense of Baker’s style, but you have not fully experienced the totality of it until a footnote has been read. I wonder, was it Baker’s intention to start his novel off with such a memorable footnote? If so, he did an amazing job. Only one page into the novel and I was already going online to look up if these straws really existed! [1]
I think Howie/Baker’s footnote, full of facts about the history of straws followed by opinions concerning how things are wrong and how to make things better, really summarizes Howie’s character very well, as well as summarizing the message of the novel as a whole. A (nearly) complete study of paper and floating straws emerging merely from the cashier asking if he wanted one! A small, seemingly unimportant question which required a detailed thoughtful paragraph to answer.
Though when I first read this, I did not really understand how these thoughts could all come to mind in a single moment (though, is this really a single moment? Another topic that would be lovely to discuss), I think I finally understood it when I was at Panera’s last Wednesday. I had ordered a Mediterranean Sandwich with no pepper and no feta, and a cup of water. When I got my water, I put a straw in and instantly had a Howie moment. The straw was nearly twice as tall as the cup, and even then, I found it extremely ironic as I was imagining all of the other kinds of straws I had ever had and how they would have compared to the extremely tall straw in my glass.
[1] I found several interesting facts on the drinking straw Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_straw) that were quite interesting:
(a) The oldest drinking straw was made of gold, decorated with lapis lazuli, and discovered in a Sumerian tomb from 3,000 BCE
(b) Sumerians used straws to drink beer (this article is really interesting, you should take a look at it)
(c) About 500,000,000 (five hundred million) straws are used DAILY in the US alone
(d) Howie would probably really like extendo-straws (also described in the Wikipedia page)
(e) Howie is considered a drinking straw expert, as the Wikipedia page contains links to the pages for Nicholson Baker and “The Mezzanine” as well as writing that “The Mezzanine (1988), includes a detailed discussion of various types of drinking straws experienced by the narrator and their relative merits.”
(f) The paper straw was invented by Marvin C. Stone in 1888 while drinking a mint julep (a cocktail usually containing bourbon, ice, water, and fresh mint)
First of all, I can totally relate to my world view being changed after this book. So many times in the last few weeks when I notice my shoelaces beginning to tear (yes, this really happened) or difficulty when taking off my straw wrapper I immediately thought of Howie. I really like how you analyzed the footnotes and came up with the idea that this particular footnote summarizes Howie's character, because a lot of times I tend to disregard footnotes but in this book they are so important. Howie's critical but also optimistic personality is totally revealed in his thoughts on straws. Really interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the footnote on straws is able to capture a lot of Howie's character and way of thinking. It's definitely a great way to start things, and probably gives the reader an idea of whether or not they'll like the novel as a whole. Personally, I haven't had my world view really change that much after The Mezzanine, but, however, I have definitely wanted to talk to people about it simply because of how relatable it can be. I love how you sort of mimicked Baker's style in your blog post with the footnote of interesting facts. (e) was especially great - who would've known?!
ReplyDeleteAs Tina mentioned above, I really liked how you inserted a footnote and did your research! For me, that was a complete “Baker thing”! When you talked about Howie/Baker’s footnotes having history and how all these thoughts were running through Howie’s mind, I started thinking about if Baker actually knew all these facts on the history of these random objects. How much, if any, research did Baker have to do? I also thought about if Baker did actually think about all these things when being asked if he wanted a straw. Or maybe while writing, Baker thinks of one thing that leads to another until you are reading about something completely different that still pertains to that one moment.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you said, " I did not really understand how these thoughts could all come to mind in a single moment." I don't think that much of this, if any, did come to mind in that moment. Howie is writing this as an exercise in writing much later. So this seems like something he would be wondering about more generally and decided to include here, even though it may not have even crossed his mind in the moment. He might have noticed the straw and made a connection in the moment, but the full memory and story of the straws wasn't part of that moment.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that this entire novel is probably an exercise for Baker. I can't think of any other reason he would write (let alone publish) 135 pages about an escalator ride. I think this deviation about straws is one of the first examples of Baker writing about everything that comes to mind, seemingly just to fill the page. Much of this endless side tracking and footnoting can be enjoyable, as Lea mentioned, but I can hardly imagine a book being advertised as a novel about a trip up an escalator. This is an amazing book, but I doubt that it was written with sales in mind.
DeleteI agree in that I like that in a very internally focused novel, so much of the character can be shown by one simple passage without the author having to actually talk about Howie's character. I also want to say that when he was talking about straws and the history and different types of straws it also intrigued me. Especially when he mentioned the floating straws, I could not recollect any of my straws ever floating and had a similar feeling to when an old person tells a story about something that doesn't exist or isn't as common as it was back before I was born or the very least, before I could remember things.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the footnotes are definitely a place where Baker's style comes through the most because he is focusing on one object in so much detail, whereas in the narration you the reader doesn’t get as much of the histories and inner workings of each object. In the footnotes Baker really plunges the reader into his inner thoughts. I especially like how you relate an experience of how the book has changed your way of thinking. Especially after writing my pastiche, I can’t help looking at objects in different ways and sometimes thinking about what Howie would say about these objects.
ReplyDeleteI like that you wrote Howie/Baker, because this is an idea I've been grappling with. Is it possible to have such a detailed insight into a mind that is not your own (or very much like it)? I cannot imagine writing Baker's style of book featuring a character that was drastically different from myself. Luckily, I think we all now share a fascination of straws. And you're not alone - I've definitely had a couple Howie moments since I read this book. Just hope it's not in a social situation, because it really does make carrying on a conversation difficult.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that all of the thoughts happened in the few moments that he was ascending the escalator, instead I think that it is more likely that Howie is adding them in later as they come to him as he considers the objects that he remembers (as it is a memoir). I like how you explained how the book has impacted your experience in ordinary circumstances-I can definitely relate. After reading his long explanation around the science of floating straws, I couldn't help but observe the bubbles that collect on the straw in a new light; and wonder if they did in fact make straws float.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the footnote on straws was a great way to introduce just how excited Howie is about mundane objects. I think it's really cool that you noticed exactly what Howie was describing in real life after reading the book. I think that what makes the book more interesting is that Howie's observations are so accurate and so commonly experienced in everyday life.
ReplyDeleteI think the intimacy of the novel had a (partial) purpose to make the reader think and engage with the text. Your straw at Panera is a great example of just that. Also I think that by including so many footnotes and diversions, Baker is almost turning the reader into Howie, if that makes sense. You get to experience first hand, what it would be like to have Howie's brain. By reading about straws, you are actively thinking about straws just like Howie. And even after you put down the book, you're thinking about things in YOUR everyday life in a "Howie mindset".
ReplyDelete