Not really my cuppa.

Once again, I'm not really sure why I requested Jonathan Ames's essay collection (with a long short story in the beginning to kick things off, and a few more stories at the end) The Double Life is Twice as Good from the library, but one day there it was, waiting for me. So why not?

I brought it home, and I read almost the whole thing, but now I can't remember much about it except that it wasn't really for me, and also that one of the essays is Ames's interview with Marilyn Manson, which was actually quite interesting. The short story wasn't dull, I'll give it that: titled "Bored To Death," it is the story of a man in his forties who places an ad on CraigsList that he's available to take on missing persons cases (although he is qualified to do no such thing), and who ends up getting in a little over his head. The persona of the main character seems somewhat similar to Ames's persona in his essays, so I was too distracted wondering how much of the story was autobiographical. Mr. CR, however, in an interesting dissenting opinion, actually liked the story quite a bit.

At the risk of sounding like a prude, some of the essays were a bit too personal for me, although I was quite amused by the one in which Ames takes a class on how to please a woman (that's right, ladies, there's some women out there trying to teach men how to please us, using such props as peaches--let's hear it for those hard-working gals!). That essay contained several of my favorite quotes, including: "There was a brief period in 1990, when I was twenty-six and read a book on the female orgasm called For Yourself, that I had, momentarily, a firm idea where the clitoris is, but it was some kind of high math and my mind could not hold on to the information for long."

In looking back on it, I think I enjoyed The Double Life is Twice as Good more than I thought I had. Will I look up any of his other books, though? I don't think so.

And then there's Augusten Burroughs's new Christmas-themed collection titled You Better Not Cry. I don't know why I keep bringing Augusten home; I think it's because a reader I respect really loves him. But again, this collection is not for me. In the first story, Augusten remembers how he couldn't keep Santa and Jesus straight, since he kept hearing about them both around Christmastime. Which is kind of amusing. But then it turns into a story where he ate the plastic face off of a life-size Santa that his grandparents brought his family, and at some point it all just becomes too sad. Normally I don't mind dark and I certainly love cynical and bitter, but sometimes when books are THIS sad they just don't work for me. Writers like David Sedaris (not my favorite, but I do prefer him and Rakoff to Burroughs) and Hollis Gillespie are kind of sad, and definitely dark, but something about them doesn't make me want to lay down and give up and die, which is what reading Augusten always does to me. This book will not be making it into my holiday routine.

Comments

[Thomas at My Porch]

When I saw the Burroughs in a bookstore, my first thought was that it would be warmed over early-Sedaris. I have enjoyed both Burroughs and Sedaris in the past, but I am kind of over them. I think Sedaris gets less and less funny with each book. To the point that I barely crack a smaile when I read him.

[Citizen Reader]

Well, Thomas, I was never a huge Sedaris fan in the first place (I much prefer both David Rakoff and Hollis Gillespie), but I do have to re-read his Christmas piece on being an elf in Macy's every year. That is a near-perfect piece of writing.

Augusten, on the other hand, I have never really been able to enjoy. I don't mind him mining his early life for Christmas-themed stories, and I don't think he's an untalented writer. But it's hard to get over the "reading him makes me want to give up on life and curl up and die" quotient I find in his works.

I am sorry Sedaris isn't working for you anymore. I think in our current publishing climate people are pushed to publish so much that the work invariably suffers. It's hard to be funny; even harder to be so on demand, reliably, once or twice a year.

[sherry (nite swimming)]

I saw Burroughs at the B & N Union Square a couple weeks ago during his promotion of the new book. It was crowded. He has what seems to be a cult-like following. Anyway, of his books, I like "Dry" the best because I suspect it is his most raw & honest writing. I read "Wolf at the Table" and was angry at the recycling of material from "Running with Scissors." Plus, it wasn't funny nor very human. I'm skipping the new one.

[Donna]

I read Burroughs' "Running with Scissors" and I just wanted to call the child abuse police. It's hard to find something funny that's just so profoundly awful.

[Citizen Reader]

Sherry,
He's very popular, and people who love him REALLY love him. I'm not surprised there was a crowd at his reading. I remember thinking "Dry" was the most readable of his books too (for me, anyway) but even that was a harrowing read.

Donna,
Yes, "Running with Scissors" didn't do much for me either, and in light of the lawsuit that Augusten lost to his family about it, I never knew what to think of its truth as a memoir:
http://www.pw.org/content/turcotte_family_settles_burroughs_st_martin039s_running_scissors_suit

But I'll definitely agree: not funny. Not to me, anyway.

[hollis]

Hey, Citizen Reader, you do a wonderful jog with this blog. And here I thought people only read in 140-character increments these days. Thanks for doing what you can to keep the world from devolving into a giant wad of wasted potential.

[Citizen Reader]

Thank you, Hollis. That is very nice to say--and thank you for commenting. And might I thank you once again for your essay "The Tiniest Bit"? Still one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I've ever come across.

(Everyone: please do click on Hollis's link; it'll take you to Hollis Gillespie's homepage, and remind you of her great essay collection Trailer Trashed, which might make a good holiday present for the discerning reader on your list.)