David Sedaris is not my number-one writer, but I respect his work. I also feel like I'm meeting myself on the page:
-Sedaris and I are both obsessed with the mid-century American novelist Richard Yates.
-Sedaris thinks that today's children are crippled by parental narcissism and hand-wringing. ("Today, a child 'graduates' fifteen times before twelfth grade....") Just this weekend, I was complaining to my spouse about my child's absurd pre-K "graduation"; my spouse did not empathize.
-When Bergoglio summoned several comics to the Vatican, Sedaris tried to imagine the reason for the invitation. His thoughts traveled the particular route that I'm sure my own thoughts would take. ("Could you lay off the jokes about pedophilia? Please. Pretty please. Remember a simpler time, when all the jokes were just about horny nuns....?" Sedaris also includes a memorable joke. A cop approaches a group of Jesuits and says, "Can you help me out? I'm looking for a pair of child-rapists...." From the crowd, a couple of voices: "WE will volunteer!")
I love Sedaris most when his spouse has to get a hip replacement. Bravely, Sedaris describes how irritated he himself is by this "disruption." He cuts off the doctor to ask an important question. "Hugh always cooks for Christmas. He will be ready by then, right?" When the doctor suggests "boxed stuffing," Sedaris begins to shudder. I can imagine this scene happening within my own marriage.
Although it now seems that Sedaris has published a larger library of books than that belonging to Harvard, he still has things to say. I'm happy to hear from him.
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