Lawrence Block’s “Autumn At The Automat” introduced an interesting main character from an interesting perspective. The narrator is from an outside perspective, and pays very close attention to a woman sitting at a table drinking her coffee. Though the majority of the story is from the third person perspective, the beginning looks at things through a second person point of view, making it feel as if you are one of the other people at the Automat. This also shows the reader that much like the woman in the story, the narrator is incredibly observant.
The reader is immediately drawn to the main character because of the way she dresses and acts while observing other customers. She is very observant but makes sure that no one else can tell, and only makes herself known when she deems it to be the right time to do so. Though many of her decisions are dictated by a voice of someone she knew, guiding her through every step of a plan that the reader does not know till towards the end of the story. “She had to smile. If some corner of her own imagination was supplying Alfred’s dialogue, it was doing so with great skill” (Block 269). This voice not only helps her financially, but also provides her with someone to talk to at times, seeing as she lives alone and is doing her best to get by. Clearly this person had an impact on her life, and continues to have an impact even after he is gone. The reader is left with many questions at the end of the story, which include why exactly Alfred is gone. It does, however, suggest that the woman will continue to pretend to steal cutlery at other Automats in order to make money.