Naked by David Sedaris
What a strange book. The introductory sentence caused an immediate reflection upon the scene in Desperado where Steve Buscemi sits down in the bar where Cheech Marin is the bartender…. You know…. He tells the story, "I was visiting a bar there, not unlike this one… they serve beer there, not quite as good as this, but close.. And in walks the biggest Mexican I have ever seen… BIG AS SHIT…." If you know the scene, you know what I am talking about. Just sort of a rambling nonsensical stringing together of words with no apparent meaning or common theme…… see what I mean? But, to move on…. This collection of essays seems to begin with something of a chronological order, but it becomes apparent that they are just jumbled together, adding more confusion to the entire scene. Now, a few thoughts on particular parts of the book. In one section, he relates behaviors that he experienced as a child that were clearly symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Reminded me of Martin. Those of you who know him will know what I am talking about. In another section, he talks about traveling across country with a guy who figured himself to be some kind of nouveau beat poet. I found this humorous, but the irony is that Sedaris was in fact describing himself. The book had no beginning and no end, but investigates certain segments of his life that when taken together are apparently supposed to give the reader an idea of what kind of person he is. If this is the goal, it fails. I find it unlikely that the events are even an actual collection of his experiences. If they are, he is a nutcase who refuses to take responsibility for anything. If not, they are evidence of some severe mental problems. Overall, an entertaining book for the stories that are told in it, but as a collection, it never seems to find its feet.
-----------Puddin
For those of you who haven't read this installment
of the book club... a
forewarning... I am about to give away the last line
of the book... It
won't give you any insights into the story, but
something I wanted to
throw out for discussion for those of us who have participated in
this
round of book club... Proceed at your own risk...
When talking about the old "X-ray Vision Goggles"
often found in the
back of comic books, Sedaris closed with....
"They suggested the manic weariness inherent in
their promise, capturing
the moment when the sheen wears off and your new
found gift becomes
something more closely resembling a burden."
Now... do you think he's talking about X-Ray Goggles
or do you think
he's using them as a metaphor for the burden of
knowing the things he's
seen?
Thanks,
Ping-Pong
I believe that this is the phrase that encapsulates
the intended "moral of the story" from the entire
book. From the beginning, he is acting quite
strangely, continually trying new things in an attempt
to gain a new perspective on life.
He begins each new adventure without an stated goal,
so one is left to surmise that he is merely looking
for something different, which creates the parallel to
the x-ray glasses. I do not care for his reference to
these new observations as a "burden". It seems to me
to be more of a resignation to an unwavering reality.
Clearly, however, he is talking about the various
attempts to discover new realities beyond those which
he or even his family experienced.
Another interesting portion of that sentence is that
he refers to the "moment when the sheen wears off".
This sentence had sort of ingratiated me to him when I
first read it, as it appeared to be a statement
acknowledging the failure of his attempts to achieve
that new reality which are found throughout the book.
With the inclusion of "the moment" however, he leaves
the issue open for further interpretation. Could it
be that this moment passes quickly for him,
reconstituting his internal drive to discover new
realities, in which case the momentary realization is worthless.
To read a bit more into it, he is referring to the
moment that the sheen wears off. When a sheen wears
off, it is usually a gradual process, with no real
identifiable point, whereas in this case he is
referring to a particular point in time. Given this discrepancy, one
can move on to look at what occurs after the sheen has worn off
something. The beauty is gone, but one becomes familiar with the new
appearance, often subconsciously rationalizing out to oneself that it
actually looks better.
Just some points to ponder..............
--------Puddin