Rating: 
Summary: The Greatest Book I Hope My Sister Never Reads!
Review: First, I should begin by saying that my girlfriend gave me this book to read (ordered me to read it, in fact). "The answers to any questions you still have about what makes women 'tick' are right inside," she said, before remarking that she didn't know how a man could have written this on his own.Now, Nicholson Baker is not only a writer, but an artist as well ("Vox," an earlier novel was also fabulous). His stellar command of the English language, so impressive in fact that I hope some of the words he cleverly 'created' for use in "Fermata" are accepted into modern speech and literature, allows Baker to write an entire novel about a subject that might otherwise get dull in a short Penthouse Forum "article." Having just finished "Fermata," I am still unsure as to how Baker managed to write it. Just when I felt that each phase of the book must surely be coming to a close, Baker managed to take it one, two, even three steps further. And in doing so, he proved that even the most taboo subjects can in fact be funny, exciting, erotic and just plain dirty all at the same time. For those who accuse Fermata as being little more than stylized pornography, I would reply that you just didn't get it. While I must admit my astonishment that a mainstream publisher actually printed this daring book, I am very thankful they did. The censorship of even one word from this incredible novel would truly, truly have been a shame. Nicholson Baker successfully added a literary energy to even the most graphic chapters (i.e. part two of Marian the Librarian), making this a novel a MUST READ for anyone who thinks they have "read it all!"
Rating: 
Summary: Pointless
Review: I bought this book based on the recommendations and reviews I read at Amazon. A first for me. I thought the central idea of someone being able to stop time was fascinating, and I thought the focus on sex was inevitable, and potentially amusing, so I bought it. Big mistake. The author displays an enviable vocabulary, and rather a lot about his sexual predilictions. In my opinion the central idea is completely wasted on this narcissistic and aimless novel. I didn't care about the central character, and after reading 2/3 of the book, I lost hope that anything interesting was going to happen. I think the author has talent, certain passages reminded me of Iain banks, but he needs to be more selfless and disciplined in plot development to produce a novel to capture my interest.
Rating: 
Summary: Read "The Mezzanine" instead.
Review: I came to love Baker's writing when I read "The Mezzanine." The writing is still good here, and the concept is interesting, but the book gets more and more relentlessly pornographic as it goes on until it seems quite overdone. So I can't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Unabashedly honest about everyones imagination
Review: I have read and reread this. It is so much fun for the amazing imagination Baker has, which you can relate to, even if it makes you uncomfortable!
Rating:
Summary: Great bookl, but not for the faint of heart.
Review: I have to admit that this is my favorite Nicholson Baker book by far. It is positively obscene, so if that bugs you then skip this review and forget about reading the book. To everyone else: this is one of the funniest, weirdest and most endearing books I have ever read. It doesn't have a lot in the way of plot, but the theme and Baker's prose more than make up for it. As a previous reviewer mentioned, Baker has more words for the various parts of the female body than Eskimos have for snow. My favorite is "jamaicas", but I'm not telling what it means. If you like Baker's style (and I would say that this is closer in style to the Mezannine than Vox, minus the footnotes) then there's a lot to like about this book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great bookl, but not for the faint of heart.
Review: I have to admit that this is my favorite Nicholson Baker book by far. It is positively obscene, so if that bugs you then skip this review and forget about reading the book. To everyone else: this is one of the funniest, weirdest and most endearing books I have ever read. It doesn't have a lot in the way of plot, but the theme and Baker's prose more than make up for it. As a previous reviewer mentioned, Baker has more words for the various parts of the female body than Eskimos have for snow. My favorite is "jamaicas", but I'm not telling what it means. If you like Baker's style (and I would say that this is closer in style to the Mezannine than Vox, minus the footnotes) then there's a lot to like about this book. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Haven't we all fantasized about this?
Review: I know I did as a kid (that and being invisible). The book had a surprisingly good human element to it what with the examination of how the narrator's ability to stop time, and his activities during said time, affect himself and his relationships with others. He delves into the characters seemingly repressed sexuality in his fantasies and his escapades during his "time-freezes" without dipping into total sleaze and crappy "porno" writing (except when it was supposed to be written that way, a la the narrators "porn" story he recounts). A good read to pick up even if it can be slow at times
Rating: 
Summary: Great writing, fails to find a theme.
Review: I loved The Fermata's first half. Fine writing, great control of tone and voice. God, what a voice. Charming, erudite, witty. Delightful. But then the novel becomes more and more pornographic. It goes from a modern version of Henry Miller to a modern version of The Story Of O. The character writes a series of X-rated stories to seduce women. The first one is witty and funny, but they get more explicit and more heavy handed as the story progresses. Ultimately the novel fails to find a theme. Nicholson Baker is a fine technician writing well, but he doesn't really understand what he's writing about, so he slaps a kind of hokey ending on and calls it quits. I was very disappointed in the end.
Rating:
Summary: sublime
Review: I read this book and became a woman who would give her eye-teeth for a lover like Arno Strine. He is warm, witty, in love with women and even though I feel a little guilty every time I buy his rationalization that he's not really doing anything wrong if he returns the women he undresses to the same state of ignorant pristineness in which he finds them, I would still like to imagine that maybe I have been one of his 'victims'. Thank-you Nicholson Baker for writing so literary a piece of erotica.
Rating:
Summary: what's wrong with a little porn?
Review: i thoroughly enjoyed this book. i bought five copies and handed them out as christmas gifts to my nearest and dearest. this is what to get for the friend who's got everything -- and likes kink.
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