Baker’s Unique Take on Nostalgia
When reading The Mezzanine, it's hard not to experience nostalgia. Baker’s detailed descriptions of the most mundane aspects of 80s corporate life brings the reader into the past without hesitation. However, I think this is largely a product of the time in which we are reading this novel, and not the novel itself. When Baker wrote The Mezzanine in the late 80s, everything he described was current. The use of the word “xeroxed” as an adjective particularly exemplifies this notion, as in an 80s office, almost everything you read was copied with a Xerox, but it now serves as a reminder of a simpler time. The office etiquette is also an example of this nostalgia. With a world occupied by phones and email, it could seem strange to a reader that Baker focuses so heavily on the subtle interactions required to perform the job. One example of this is found when he interacts with Tina, citing that he could not leave until she finished her phone call, or he was released (Baker 32). This isn’t to say that in person connection isn’t present in an office now, but a description of an interaction might be replaced with the process of writing and editing an email. In 2060, this slow and methodical process might be nostalgic for people who transmit thoughts directly from one mind to another. So while the book certainly creates 80s nostalgia for me, I doubt it was written for this purpose.
In the novel, both Howie and Baker reflect on the past, yet whether or not their writing is driven by nostalgia is different for both speakers. Howie recalls in detail the slow decline of his family’s milk delivery service. The local deliverer was soon bought up by a corporate giant, stripped of its personality and branding, and eventually the service was cancelled as they became the last home in the neighborhood which took deliveries (Baker 44). Howie doesn’t recall this with a particular fondness for milk delivery, but instead seems to be interested in how the outdated practice of delivery continued far into the age of the milk carton (Baker 43). In fact, Howie specifically notes that “I am tempted away from history into all kinds of untrustworthy emotional details,” displaying that he is actively trying to steer his writing away from nostalgia, and into the objective facts of the era (Baker 44). On the other hand, the narrator (who contacts us via the footnotes) seems to me to be heavily experiencing nostalgia. While some of the footnotes are simply objects or events he finds interesting, one in particular seems to be heavily driven by nostalgia. In one lengthy footnote, he expresses his frustration that the office doorknobs are not truly knob shaped. This leads him to recall his father's behavior of always hanging his ties on the properly knob shaped doorknobs present in his home. He describes how his father gave him a tie, and they wore it to a dinner, feeling they had the best ties at the table (Baker 27). This passage is demonstrative of Baker’s tendency to let one thought lead to another, which in this case caused him to experience a nostalgic memory. Nostalgia is often not connected to the objects themselves, but rather the era of safety surrounding them, and the transition from doorknobs to a calming memory perfectly demonstrates this.
Ultimately, the novel expresses nostalgia in a variety of different ways and as a reader, it was difficult to not experience it myself. For me, part of the intrigue of the book was how well it transported me to the mid 80s, an era which I never experienced. What was a completely normal day for Howie interests me because of how carefree he seems. He lives his life with the ability to take in every detail, a luxury most cannot afford. By focusing on the smaller aspects of life, the novel manages to create the sense of simplicity so often associated with nostalgia. When writing the book, I can imagine that Baker was also experiencing nostalgia, as Howie specifically notes he must avoid it interfering with his writing. However in the footnotes, Baker is free to let his feelings onto the page, shown well through the tie story. The experience for every reader is different, but I’m curious if anyone else felt some 80s nostalgia while reading this book.
Nicholson Baker. The Mezzanine. Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1988.
Hello Andrew! I loved the topic you chose to write about for this blog! I am a very nostalgic person, and feel a very weird pseudo-nostalgia nearly every time I consume content that is set in or was produced in a time period before I was even a thought. I know Mr. Mitchell will be laughing at us youngins for saying this but I definitely felt some 80s "nostalgia" while reading this book. I could practically smell that distinctive musty old carpet office building smell as I was flipping through the pages. Also I don't know why but the part where you wrote "In 2060, this slow and methodical process might be nostalgic for people who transmit thoughts directly from one mind to another" took me OUT. I was laughing to my computer screen for a good 20 seconds straight. I don't know if this was some intentional dry humor but I really liked how some of your personality showed through this post.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't tell if it was intentionally funny or not either but I also found it very funny. The future generations will look back and laugh at the inefficiency of me typing out this blog comment with my slow fingers.
DeleteI forgot to specify that I am referring to how the people in 2060 will "transmit thoughts directly from one mind to another"
DeleteI think you have a really fascinating insight about how literature is perceived in different time periods. Baker sort of unintentionally left a beautiful time capsule for us, uniquely creating a window into past human society. I’d love to read a modern version of The Mezzanine now. I wonder if it would be more interesting, more boring, or both. Because some parts of Baker’s writing was difficult to follow since I didn’t understand a lot of the context about the 1980s. But at the same time, I was also intrigued about new things, such as the milk delivery service. I never knew about that! It sounds kind of fun to me and seems so wholesome and cute. It’s interesting that he was able to invoke a feeling of nostalgia in me too… as I was reading I began missing that delivery service even though it was gone long before I was born.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew! I loved how you interpreted Baker's use of nostalgia in the book, and I agree, I think part of the nostalgia comes from the time period it's set in. I also think the nostalgia connects to how he thinks about his childhood memories, and how the opinions we formed back then still shape our day to day life now. The milk delivery example reminded me of Toys R Us Closing. That store used to represent childhood to me, the excitement of picking out a new toy, walking down those huge aisles. Now it is just a thing of the past that I barely remember, and it is strange to think that something so central to my childhood just disappeared, similar to how the milk delivery service Howie describes was such a normal part of everyday life until it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteIt's maybe true that ANY evocation of a shared past can evoke nostalgia, and it's interesting that you experience a kind of nostalgic feeling for an era you didn't even directly experience while reading this book (as maybe I feel a twinge of nostalgia when Baker writes about the milkman home-delivering milk, something I never experienced). It's true that "the often undocumented daily texture of our lives"--which mostly takes the form of the consumer products and technologies that surround us--can be deployed to evoke nostalgia. Remember when soda cans had the old kind of opening? Remember when the old air-dryers were finally replaced in the bathroom? etc. The idea is that we barely notice these things changing, but then, before we know it, a description of someone using a dialup modem can give us an unexpected lump in our throat, lamenting the passage of an earlier and simpler time.
ReplyDeleteYou mean the square tabs? I think I'm too young lol.
DeleteHi Andrew! I like how you talk about how Baker focuses on interactions.Even I prefer sending an email or text rather than having a person to person interaction. I agree with your claim that nostalgia is often not connected to the objects themselves, but rather the era of safety surrounding them. For me it would be smells, music, food, etc. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew, I also think that the way Howie recalls these moments from his early life does give off a strong sense of nostalgia even if he never says he wants to especially focus on the emotional side of his memories (though this nostalgia is much more evident in his fond familial memories). I do wonder if these kinds of past experiences Howie writes were actually Baker's most important real life memories, as he describes them in such detail that even we can feel some connection to this environment from decades ago through his writing. I also think we can explore our own nostalgia even more through our pastiche assignment.
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