She can really write, I'll give her that.

I did not like Meghan Daum's Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived In That House as much as I liked her essay collection My Misspent Youth (remember? "Carpet is Mungers.").

This is not to say that I didn't like it. I did read the whole thing, and enjoyed parts of it immensely. I think Daum really knows her way around nonfiction prose. The whole book is nothing but a dissertation on Daum's fascination with her own living arrangements: her childhood home, her desire to live in New York City (a certain kind of apartment/place in NYC, mind you), her move to Nebraska, her living situations there, and her eventual search (at the height of the real estate boom) for the perfect house in Los Angeles.

Her descriptive powers are at their height when she describes the house she ended up buying in L.A. (for $450,000), especially when she discusses its "fixer-upper" qualities:

"And then there was the garage. I realize that this is the kind of statement that makes people think women are not equipped to own property other than full-service condos, but I'll just come out and say it: I didn't really look at the garage right away because I was afraid to. But let's understand something: many a grown man was also afraid of this structure (a weirdly endearing macho man who I know owns a gun refused to even approach it; another man told me he wouldn't go near it without a life insurance policy). What wusses, I thought, though undoubtedly they just thought I was a moron and a sucker...The property had been sold in as-is condition, not least of all because the garage, which was presumably built in 1928 or shortly thereafter, had been completely caved in for decades. Somewhere along the line, the slabs of broken concrete from the roof had even bisected a Volkswagen bus parked inside." (pp. 175-176.)

Interestingly, the parts of the book set in L.A. were my favorites (which surprised me, as I am not an L.A. fan). But mainly what wowed me about this book was hearing how Daum got by on a writer's salary and without health insurance until at least her mid-thirties (at least that's the way it sounded). I salute her. But I also don't think that's what I was supposed to take away from her book.

Comments

[sherry]

I really liked "The Quality of Life Report." I'm thinking I'll enjoy this book. What's not to like about the City of Angels?

[Citizen Reader]

Thanks for the reminder, Sherry, I've got to read that novel yet.

Oh, well, L.A. People who don't like hot weather don't belong in L.A., that's all. I feel more of an affinity with the east coast--better mass transit, more cities available along that mass transit corridor, actual seasons, etc. I'm annoyed by car traffic here in the Midwest--I don't think I'd last long in L.A.!!

[sherry]

I was born in Los Angeles in the Queen of Angels hospital but I much prefer northern California. And love San Francisco. If you are hot weather avoidant, SF is the place for you.

[Ruthiella]

I live near Los Angeles. I like it well enough, when I go there. Every city has its unique charm. But I agree with Sherry, San Francisco is beautiful. It is much smaller than L.A., it has a great mass transit system and people actually live IN the city. And it doesn't get too hot.

[Shelley]

She lost me at house for $450,000.

[Citizen Reader]

Sherry,
I have seen SF and agree with you that it is a beautiful city. But even up there....there is something too "sprawling" about California for me. Being born in a smaller state must just have formed my brain for a smaller sense of scale or something. But I certainly wouldn't mind vacationing in SF again...

Ruthiella,
Oh sure, I know every city's got something going for it. And I loved visiting Hollywood and just seeing LA. But to live there? I took a shuttle bus from LAX down to Long Beach and remember looking down at the endless lanes of freeway and just laughing...I wouldn't last there for five minutes.

Shelley,
Well, sure, that's just a tad (ha) outside my price range too. Part of that is what's interesting--she's very rueful about buying in an expensive city at the height of the real estate market, which was just unlucky timing. She lost me at more of the interior decorating stuff--I can't think of anything more boring than choosing the pulls for my kitchen cabinets or drawers.

[Mary]

I found this column very entertaining, and on this very subject.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/our-houses-our-selves/8137/

[Citizen Reader]

Thanks for the link, Mary! I'm off to check it out right now, I love delaying work by reading magazine articles. :)