Maximum Blogging

          In Nicholson Baker's novel, The Mezzanine, Howie regularly refers to "L." We know that she is Howie's romantic partner, but other than that, we don't know much about her as a character (what she looks like, how old she is, what she does for work, etc.). This anonymity, however, allows us to see her only in terms of how Howie is affected by her; we see what she has provided to his life experiences, acting as a kind of outside force and example of Howie's deeper relationships. She shows all the different aspects of Howie's character, his immaturity, his longing for true adulthood, and his obsession with the mundane, even through the little scraps of character we get through Howie's memories.            We are told parts of Howie's relationship with his parents; we know about his father's ties, his mother's dislike of someone drinking while chewing, and that they eventually get divorced. But our view of L. feel...