David Sedaris’ Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2001 is a collection of the humorist’s real diaries. The entries aren’t the complaints of an angry young man or an angry older man; the entries sent me to Google to discover arcane and fascinating references to artists, photographers, authors, and regular people. Sedaris’ daily writings are also fun, educational, and relatable. Who knew that young David and his friend Ronnie Ruedrich were apple-picking partners in Washington state? Ronnie moved to San Francisco and now owns a shoe store. I use her shoe-buying advice: If it’s snug, it will stretch. It if hurts, it won’t. Who knew that Sedaris taught college writing? As a former writing teacher, I connected to David’s “constant feelings of deception.” Sedaris reminded me to read the journalist Anatole Broyard and authors Russell Banks, Toni Morrison, Fran Lebowitz and David Rokoff. Google any one of those names and read their works; you won’t be disappointed.
Famous for writing personal essays about his family members from his mother who commiserated with his beleaguered teachers to his father who told young David that when [he] got a fancy job, [he] could have a fancy snack after work, Sedaris’ Theft provides fans of his essays with context for family members. Amy Sedaris, his famous sister from the Comedy Central television series “Strangers with Candy” and the movie Elf, is often with David in his diary shopping for silly products or attending parties with famous people. Sedaris’ diary discusses movies in unique ways, too. Of Planet of the Apes from 1968 he recalls noticing Charlton Heston’s fillings as he laughs maniacally when he realizes he’s on Earth and not some far-off planet. I watched for those fillings during a re-watch of the classic film. Hilarious. Sedaris shows a sympathetic side when recalling the sadness in A Patch of Blue. He mentioned reading Diane Johnson’s Persian Nights and An Obedient Father by Akhil Sharma, both authors with whom I’m not familiar. That’s the beauty of this extensive diary: discoveries! College students will relate to the entries where Sedaris recalls his adventures from the three universities he attended. And the good news is that he published a follow-up covering the years 2003-2020 entitled A Carnival of Snackery. I’m reading that one as I write this blog.
While I read Theft by Finding, I took copious notes so that I could Google the references later. I took those notes and wrote to David Sedaris via his publicist. That was back in November. And last week a friend texted saying that Sedaris was on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross discussing his current book Happy Go-Lucky. It reminded me that I hadn’t heard from Sedaris. When I reached into the mailbox that day, I discovered the treasure displayed here! A response from David Sedaris! A copy of the postcard is below.
As a fan of Sedaris since the early 1990s, I’ve read and enjoyed most of his books. Our library has several titles including Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, a favorite of mine that mimics Aesop who employed animals to expose the foibles of humankind. Sedaris, though, seeks a darker humor here than Aesop to hilarious ends. Pick up any of his books and get ready to laugh.
