| Nicholson Baker was born in Rochester, New York in January 1957. He has been married since 1985 to a fellow writer named Margaret Brentano. They have two children together and now reside in Maine.
When reading one of Nicholson Baker�s works it is hard to believe that his first passion was not writing. Baker originally attended college with the intent of becoming a musical composer. It was during this time that he realized that his true passion was writing. However, it was not until years later when Baker attended a two week writing seminar that he began to write. Baker practiced his writing by publishing several successful articles in the New Yorker and the Atlantic. He also worked as a technical writer and word processor to continue perfecting his writing skill. It was during this time that Baker developed his unorthodox style of writing.
Nicholson Baker�s style of writing is either loved or hated. Regardless of whether or not someone enjoys his writing there is still something that stands out about his work. Baker�s unique writing style is one that does not include a conventional plot or a climax. Although some critics dismiss Baker as a writer, he does not write to sell out, stun, or satisfy anyone in particular; his only intent is to get the reader to examine common things in life that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. He is known for his unique style that includes fiction and non-fiction writings. Baker wrote his first novel in 1988 at the age of 31. The novel, The Mezzanine is a fictional work about a young man named Howie that works in an office. This book is based around his thoughts and memories that occur during his lunch breaks. This book is filled with footnotes, but despite that it is one of the most critically acclaimed novels by Baker. Baker�s next novel is also a fiction work. Room Temperature was written in 1990 and its shares the same style as The Mezzanine. Room Temperature is about a man, Mike and his thoughts about his life while he is holding his new baby in his arms. However, this book was not as well respected as Bakers first novel. In 1991 Baker switches to non-fiction to write U and I. It is a witty book about Bakers admiration for John Updike and the relationship between readers and writers. This is a very enlightening book about Nicholson Baker and his motivation in becoming a writer. A short year later, Baker returns to fictional work for his next novel, Vox. The style of this novel is a very similar to Bakers previous fictional works. In Vox, two young people share their thought about sex which occurs during a phone call. Although this sounds as if it may be a racy book, Bakers attention to detail prevents this from becoming a raunchy sex book. In 1994 Baker published a best selling novel, The Fermenta. It is about a thirty five year old man who works at an office and has the ability to stop time so he can act out his sexual fantasies with the women that are around him. The Fermenta, like most of Baker�s works, he pays careful attention to details that many would have overlooked. A few years later, Baker wrote a novel called the Everlasting Story of Nory. The main character is a nine year old American girl that travels with her family to England. The story is about her experiences and thoughts during her semester of school in England. This novel has received mixed reviews from many readers. Although, it is in the typical Baker style, its subject matter is dramatically different. Following the release of the Everlasting Story of Nory, Baker turned his attentions to another passion of his. Nicholson Baker became aware that the only existing copies of many books and newspapers were being destroyed by libraries. Baker thought that it was necessary to preserve important events about American publishing. This led him to start an organization called American Newspaper Repository in 1999. Baker also believed he should make people aware of this disservice to Americans and he did this by writing Double Fold in 2001. The main purpose of this web page is to focus on a novel that Baker wrote in 2003 titled, A Box of Matches. This novel covers Emmett�s thirty two day journey to find out what life is really about. He wakes every morning, lights a match, and ponders his life while drinking a cup of coffee. At times it is hard to distinguish whether Emmett is going through a mid life crisis or simply searching for the meaning of his life. As Emmett lights his last match from the box, he ends his journey and finally finds what he has been searching for. |
| Nicholson Baker Biography |
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| photo credit Random House |
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