David Sedaris' "Naked": I Like Guys

“I Like Guys” is an exercise in perfect self-loathing. Unlike most of his stories, this one has no hopeful ending, and no note of redemption at its conclusion. The piece itself is painful and drawn out, in the best possible way. The anguish Sedaris feels while sequestered in a Christian camp in Greece, battling his own homosexuality and developing a fleeting romance with a fellow camper, is mirrored by our anxiety in reading it. Sedaris’ books create a strong connection to the protagonist, affection for him: a feeling that you’re a part of his diabolically dysfunctional family. Because of this, to see him so tortured breaks your heart and in this case educates you on the awkward truths of repressed sexuality. To avoid being sensationalist or preachy, he discusses the more explicit aspects of his life with frank, matter-of-fact sincerity. Everywhere unnecessary details can be avoided, they’re left out.

I found the subplot about his sister avoiding him as interesting as the main homosexuality plot. Obviously he couldn’t explore every aspect of the experience, but having your sister ditch you for a trash-talking Queens girl could be as potentially devastating as anything else in the story. I think he could’ve rewritten the whole story about that.