I'm halfway there! Twenty-six books down, twenty-six to go! Of course, it's already the middle of October, but never mind about that. I have three more books already completed and I'm halfway through a fourth, which I'm hoping to finish by the end of the week. In other words, I'm still cranking it out, and although it's going to take some effort at this point, I have every intention of making it to 52 without having to resort to Reader's Digest Condensed Books.
Speaking of condensed literature, I love essays, especially humorous ones. All through the 80's and 90's, and into the new millennium, I could not wait to read Dave Barry's column every Sunday in the Washington Post magazine. Barry now only does the annual "Year in Review" feature, and although I miss him, I love Gene Weingarten's replacement column. I'm also a fan of Twain and Swift, and of P. J. O'Rourke, who despite his conservative pedigree, or perhaps because of it, is one of the best humorists of our time. But one essayist I had never got around to reading was David Sedaris. I had heard him read his essays from time-to-time on "This American Life," the popular storytelling show that airs weekly on NPR, but I had never sat down to read them myself. I had originally put Naked, which I believe is his second book, on my list of potential reads for this project. However, when I saw a hardback version of When You Are Engulfed in Flames sitting in the bargain bin at Border's for four bucks, I knew that would be my introduction to Sedaris' work.
Book 26 - When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris
David Sedaris is a man of extremes. He can take the most mundane experiences and hold the reader rapt with the details. Conversely, he can take the most bizarre people and situations and make them seem human and normal. But no matter which direction he steers the reader, the ride is always funny, albeit uncomfortable, for Sedaris humor has an intensely dark side.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames is Sedaris' sixth and most recent book. His essays are mostly autobiographical, and range from childhood, to his college days, to his current life both here and abroad with his boyfriend Hugh. At first blush it would appear there is a fair amount of embellishment to his tales, but perhaps not as much as one would think. Sedaris channels weirdness, and when he can't find the truly weird, he manages to make everyday life seem weird and interesting.
Some of the tales focus on his youth. In "The Understudy," he and his sisters are forced to endure the substitute babysitter from hell. "Road Trips" recounts his attempts to come out to his friends about his homosexuality, and tells of his virginity's close call with a supposedly straight trucker who picks him up hitchhiking and wants to him to perform sexual favors for him. In "What I Learned" he tells us how he tried to temper his parent's enthusiasm for his attending Princeton by informing them that he is going to major in Patricide.
Other stories focus on his contemporary life. "April in Paris" and "Aerial" take place while he was living in Normandy with his partner, while "The Smoking Section," the book's longest essay, has Sedaris and Hugh moving to Tokyo so he can quit smoking. Perhaps one of the funniest parts of the book is a subsection of "Brother Can You Spare a Tie," an essay on his problems with fashion and accessories, in which he discusses his experience with the Stadium Pal, an external catheter designed so truckers on cross country hauls don't have to stop to urinate. I stumbled across a YouTube link for Sedaris reading this on the Letterman show. I highly recommend taking a moment to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBdymtyXt8Y
Sedaris' writing is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but if you've got a twisted streak to your sense of humor, you will most likely find him quite hilarious.
BTW - Sedaris has a new book called Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. The Washington Post ran a promotional article about Sedaris and the book last week, and the online version has a video of Sedaris reading from the new book. Here's the link:
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