In "This Old House" by David Sedaris, the author "longed for a home where history was respected" (pg. 255). At first he felt comfortable in the boarding house. He felt comfort in the fact that his landlady shared his taste for eccentric antiques. Upon recalling the first winter he lived in the house, he wrote, "my life felt like a beautiful dream" (pg. 258). However, he was not able to hold on to this dream of trying to live in a time long past. "I hoped that our lives would continue this way forever, but inevitably the past came knocking. Not the good kind that was collectible but the bad kind that had arthritis." (pg. 258). As Ava and Chaz are introduced, Rosemary and David are forced to reevaluate reality and stop living in times past.
As more insight is gathered about Chaz and Ava, it is clear that their living in the house has caused a role reversal for Rosemary and David. With the introduction of the characters who have mentally broken away from reality, those who have chosen an alternate reality must face their situations. Rosemary gives up her vintage clothes and her home so that she can take care of her mother and daughter. David is forced to see beyond Chaz's good looks and begins to examine where he is in life. "Every gouge and smudge jumped violently into focus. More depressing still was the thought that I belonged here, that I fit in." (pg. 262). David eventually came to realize that he needed to move on because he realizes that before long, he wouldn't fit in there.
This essay style presents a different voice than that of previous works of David Sedaris that I have read. It has moments of humor, however the tone of the essay seems quite mixed, combined with moments of very serious reality. I am more familiar with Sedaris in his strictly humorous tones like the one in his book entitled "Dress Your Family in Denim and Overalls." In this essay, his humor is more subtle and reserved and the poignant moments seem to stick out more. Being aware of David Sedaris' work before reading this piece seemed to set me up for minor disappointment because of the mixed tone and subtle humor. Yet, if I had not been familiar with Sedaris' work previously and had such expectations, I would have found this essay to be an excellent piece of work.
I just read this work in a textbook for a class and was pleasantly surprised. I have not read any of Sedaris's other works or essays before and when reading the prologue in my textbook- "Biting social commentary...Most popular humor writer..."- I was surprised once finishing this particular piece. I too felt it had its moments of humor but to me, it was a very differently toned style than I thought going in with the what I read about his humorist style.
ReplyDeleteI loved this piece. I just looked up my local bookstore to see about reading some of his other published works. I am a bit nervous with though because I've read from your post and others than many feel this piece is very different than his rest. I hope I enjoy them just as much. It read very much like a play to me and had a very fiction narrative flow to it. By that's what I think I enjoyed most. The characters and the development we see them all transfer into seems almost 'to good to be true.'
Do you personally feel this essay has been a little bit fictionalized by Sedaris? Or is it really just him capturing it in its truest light?