The Mezzanine Review 9/3/20

     Does the escalator ride and getting new shoe strings give the reader a concrete view into Howie's mindset and way of thinking? From reading the book, the events and stories that Howie tells on his journey into the mezzanine does give the reader insight to how the mind of Howie operates. 

    So who is Howie? Howie is the main of the book and the plot of the book revolves around him. He's a pretty typical man who works a typical nine to five in the office. From the context of the book, he probably works in some sort of big corporation and is starting at an entry-level position given the fact that he's in his mid-twenties. His co-workers around him like Tina are pretty average people themselves and he doesn't really think much of them. He lives a pretty automated and routinely life where he does things out of habit and doesn't give much thought to it. As the reader, you only get some insight of him as he is taking an escalator to his job. During this escalator ride, he talks about some of his different experiences he's had. But what separates this book from other books is where his stories originate from. Howie is a man who pays very close attention to detail the stories told in this book come from small details that he notices.

    What mindset does Howie portray in the book? When reading the book, you find that Howie is a very detailed-oriented person. In fact, I remember talking to someone from my church who is a middle-school teacher about Howie and she told me that based on Howie's actions, one can infer that he can be put on the spectrum of autism because of how meticulous he is. The book shows no clear signs that he is severely autistic or anything of that sort but what she had told me made sense and I wouldn't be surprised if Howie had any mild disorder. Also from reading The Mezzanine, the reader can infer that not only is Howie meticulous, but he perceives people and his life as mundane. At his job, Howie accepts the social norms of having interactions with co-workers but never truly tries to elevate any of those relationships from there. It does seem that Howie values his relationships with people like his parents or his girlfriend but the book doesn't really go too in depth about them. 

    So in conclusion, Howie is a pretty typical man who even he admits, has a pretty bland life. I think that the reason Howie may even pay such close attentions to small details in his life is so that it makes his life seem even more interesting than what it is. I would recommend this book but in all honesty, it reminds me to an extent of a show called The Office because the plot revolves around typical office workers. That is my general opinion of The Mezzanine and I hope you have gained some insight from this.