I think people are naturally drawn to those who are outstanding individuals. You know the type, well intentioned, kind, compassionate people who are constantly doing good things for others: i.e Fred Rogers. There are others, but he comes to mind first. I would likely also include Bill Nye. He just seems like a great person to meet or to have lunch with. The Pope strikes me this way. Well, this pope does, not the one before. Still, he seems patient and tolerant. I'm sure you have people in your life this applies to as well. Granted, this isn't to say that they aren't flawed, or have perfect personalities; they're not, but they all share similar qualities in my mind, and I would be honored to meet any one of them.
But, I'm not drawn to them the way that I am to well-intentioned assholes. In the culinary world, I align better to David Chang or Anthony Bourdain than I do to Eric Ripert; Ripert, known for his calm demeanor in his kitchen at Le Bernardin in New York. No, Chang is fiercely honest where his criticism of generic cuisine authenticity in his field can be harsh (and seen on Netflix in his new program: Ugly Delicious). And, Bourdain has overcome a litany of drugs and poor sexist kitchen habits to become a hugely vocal advocate for women's rights along with being an advocate of the world's cultures for CNN. He smokes and curses and does right by people. I love them both.
Enter David Sedaris. Sedaris is one of my favorite authors and I've been reading his books since 1999 when a copy of "Me Talk Pretty One Day" was lent to me by a friend. "Read this," she said, "it's hilarious." Sedaris, for those who are new to him, isn't a novelist, per se. He writes short stories and essays on his family and his own personal experiences. To give you an idea about who his family is, his sister is Amy Sedaris of "Strangers with candy" and "Elf" fame, and more recently "At Home with Amy Sedaris" where she leads you through a number of crafts and recipes in her attempt to entertain her celebrity guests. She's insane. And, while she's sometimes referenced in David's books, it's clear that his entire family just has a different way of looking at, and responding to, life.
Imagine my joy when my wife surprised me with tickets to see him at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ. I know, excited to hear an author read? Can't you read it yourself? Sedaris' voice tends to be of a higher register (think tenor vs. baritone; maybe, more accurately, a women's alto) and, as he and his family hail from Raleigh, North Carolina, so there's a hint of an accent. Also, his ability to mimic or portray his subjects in their voices as he reads is uncanny. Last night he recalled a phone conversation he once had with Roseanne Barr some 8 years ago, able to replicate her thick mid-western accent and sentence structure/choice of verbiage so that, for a second, both he and she were on the state in the recreated moment.
His timing as a reader is impeccable as well. This was demonstrated by his description of his excitement when he came across two opaque plastic garbage bags filled with pornography along a strip of forest he typically walks. He's gay, and as the porn in the bags featured mostly straight people, he wasn't interested in the content so much as the potential it might have for someone who might be. With this waste-not/want-not attitude, the latter part of this essay was spent in describing how he might be able to suggest to someone else that, if they walked up this road, and to that spot, there may be something they'd be interested in recalling that, before the internet, which allows you to dial up porn any time of the day, this would have been a treasure-trove! How does one offload 2 garbage bags of porn discreetly? Can't just throw it away...he rationalizes, as it's still good for someone out there.
By the time you're at the end of the reading, you're actively rooting for him to transfer those bags to an appreciative reader. And, you feel for him when he's scolded by his husband for trying to offload the loot to neighbors. All of his books are like this. Sedaris is able to seemingly recall specific and odd details which make all of his stories interesting. Using himself as the common thread to which these things happen, not only does well to give a single book continuity, but it also allows you to tie his body of works together.
He's got two more being released in the next year. Last year he released "Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002)" which is exactly as it sounds, his diary entries between those years. He intends on releasing a companion which extends the entries from 2002 to 2017 or 2018. His raw observations about co-workers and roommates are brilliant, especially when he's stuck on a theme and it contributes to multiple diary entries. His other book, to be released at the end of May, is entitled Calypso and will feature short stories and essays that largely center on he and his husband's purchase of a shore house in North Carolina, and his one sister's untimely death. As most houses or B&Bs in that neighborhood have cute pun-riddled ocean-themed names, he and his decided that the house would be Christened "Sea-Section." It's a duplex, and due to his insane family and friends who might visit, rather than convert it into a single living space, they are keeping it as a duplex so as to be able to close the door when necessary.
Frequently being caught in an uncomfortable conversation (one that he sometimes brings upon himself), you can't help but relate. His story is clearly not mine, we differ in age and upbringing, location and life preferences, and his world travels are grandiose to a layperson to say the least between London, the French countryside, Paris and New York (and more recently Hawaii and Tokyo). But, his struggles are so incredibly human, and humanly presented that you never feel that he's being pretentious or braggadocious. Having read so many of his books, his family becomes your family, and through it all, you root for him, the underdog to shepard you through, but with open eyes and humor.
No comments:
Post a Comment