Calypso by David Sedaris

I used this novel for last week's Book Beginnings on Fridays and The Friday 56.

David Sedaris is a new, to me, author. I knew nothing about him, but found this book at the library's new books' shelf. The back cover text sounded good, it is a large print edition, which is always helpful, so I grabbed it. It is a great read.

"With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories can make you laugh till you snort. Sedaris's wirting has never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter is unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when you own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future." (From back cover)

He takes you on a hilarious ride of satire and humour, spelling out a lot of the things we usually just think to ourselves, but not always dare to speak out loud. When his sister used up all her inheritance at once and went to live in the street, he writes. "It's like she saw poverty as an accomplishment. "I'll be out at one in the morning, knee-deep on a Dumpster and elbowing aside some immigrant Haitian lady for the good stuff," she boated once when I visited her in Somerville.
"Maybe the Haitian woman has to be there," I said. "she has nothing at her disposal, while you have an education. You had braces on your teeth. You speak good English." My argument was an old and stodgy one: the best thing you can do for the poor is avoid joining their ranks, thus competing with them for limited goods and services."

Sedaris highlights memories of his past with his family and partner. It is enjoyable, and takes place to the background of world events. Highlighting modern life with all its technicalities, healthy life style...or not. "Every one in America is extremely concerned with hydration. Go more than five minutes without drinking, and you'll surely be discovered behind a potted plant, dried out like some escaped hermit crab. When I was young no one would think to bring a bottle of water into a classroom. I don't think they even sold bottled water. We survived shopping trips without it, and funerals. Now, though, you see people with those barrels that Saint Bernards carry around their necks in cartoons, lugging them into the mal and the movie theatre, then hogging the fountains in order to refill them. Is that really necessary? I think as I stand behind them with an aspirin dissolving in my mouth, fuming." I really liked this part, since I always need to have water with me when I am out walking. My husband insists it is not necessary, even for a longer walk in the woods.

Sedaris is looking at how society works and how we move within it. He has lived in the US, France and England and he tells us about aspects of life in different countries. Once, while in their house in England, he fell down from a ladder and could not get up, and his partner calls the hospital, on which he has the following thoughts. "Hugh phones the NHS - the National Health Service - and after being asked a number of preliminary questions, I'm put through to a nurse named Mary.
"Who are you again?" I ask.
"Mary," she repeats, not, I notice, Mary Steward or whatever her last name is. Everything in America is based on lawsuits, on establishing a trail. In the United States I'd be told to come in immediately for X-rays, but in England they figure that unless you're unconscious or leaking great quantities of fluid - blood, pus etc. - there's no point in wasting everyone's time. Mary asks me a number of questions to determine whether I pierced a lung, which apparently I have not. "But it really hurts when I cough," I tell her.
"Well, David," she says brightly, "then my advice to you would be not to cough, and to have a lovely Christmas."

I love his sense of humour and his outlook on life. It makes you think about life's peculiarities and how we perceive the world we live in. There are some 'below the waste' humour which I am not so fond of, but most of it makes you smile and nod in recognition. He paints a wonderful picture of his family, if it is true or not, I don't know. But it makes for charming and witty reading, based on a lot of love.