This American Life has recently released a new collection of stories on CD, just in time for the holidays. For those of you who do not know, This American Life (TAL) is a weekly public radio program featuring well-crafted audio vignettes, often drawn from the lives of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations. The best pieces often transcend the subject at hand and touch effortlessly on meaningful, hidden, or universal values, both humorous and poignant--sometimes in the same story. The goal is not storytelling for storytelling's sake, and that's what makes the program unique.
Most of the stories in Hope and Fear meet this benchmark to one degree or another:
--If I Can Make It There A young fellow moves to New York, finds what he thinks is a great apartment -- one that signifies having "made it" in his mind -- only to learn otherwise, in way so 21st Century;
--Is This Thing On? High hopes, dashed expectations, and the hidden dangers of karaoke;
--Thinking Inside The Box A message is sent to the future, with no guarantee of being understood;
--Infinite Gent Hormones and You: Everything You've Heard About Men Is True;
--Miami Vices The horrifyingly funny tale of everyone who grew up in Los Angeles in the 1970s--told by a nice Jewish girl who grew up in Miami Beach;
--The Babysitters Love, Honor, and Shared Deception, all in the name of freedom;
--Fears Of Your Life The poetry of fear, from tall giraffes to self-inflicted deafness and speeding cars, laid bare by the marginalized;
--On Hold No One Can Hear You Scream In which we are invited to contemplate the absurd possibility that no one in a position of authority at the phone company actually has access to a phone;
--Anti-Oedipus The strange tale of a father who disowns a son for not becoming the man he wants him to be; then he gets out of the way and the son becomes exactly the man the father never could be;
--So A Chipmunk And A Squirrel Walk Into A Bar A heartwarming anthropomorphic allegory of forbidden love, misunderstanding, fear, rationalization, and sentimental forgetfulness, told by your friend and mine, David Sedaris;
--Slingshot Meeting the Ferryman in Atlantic City.
The stories that shine in the best of the TAL tradition are Thinking Inside The Box and Slingshot. InThinking, what begins as one family's way of providing continuity in the face of impossible odds becomes, upon reflection, everyone's story. One is left with the impression that perhaps we are all videomakers composing our messages for those who are not likely to understand. In Slingshot we see how fear loses its hold when we finally submit to forces beyond our control and there is no longer time to reflect. Fear is born of perspective, not proximity.
Other stories in the compilation seem to be somewhere between these two examples and other end of the TAL spectrum, where the meat of the story sometimes becomes subservient to the well-honed production techniques used by TAL. Most are much closer to delivering the ideal and none of the stories come anywhere near self-parody in this regard. A few of the stories are off the continuum altogether and are simply (and excellently) amusing--particularly Miami Vices--no deep messages to shoot for; just a good laugh.
One might wonder why the David Sedaris piece was included, as it's a short fictional story, while the others are apparently drawn from experience. However, this is a minor consideration. I personally enjoy the work of David Sedaris, so I see it as bonus track from one of my favorite authors. Another odd thing is the lack of an introduction by Ira Glass--this too, however, is not an issue. It simply shows how we've become used to Mr. Glass setting up the show in advance of the stories.
Given the wealth of material in the vault, one may also wonder why TAL didn't offer more stories along the lines of Thinking Inside The Box and Slingshot on the CD, as these are the stand-out tracks that arguably exemplify the best qualities of the program. A less charitable evaluation would suggest that the collection is uneven. However, a CD of nothing but deep stories and bell ringers competing against each other would be a little like sitting down to a fancy dinner and having 10 courses of the finest steak. You'd probably get sick of steak in a hurry. (If you've ever sat down and read a collection of Indries Shah's Sufi tales in one sitting, you'll know what I mean.)
That perhaps is the way to look at this CD--it's not Greatest Hits, Volume II, but actually a well-planned meal that leaves one quite satisfied--not eyeing the kitchen door for more, and not stuffed beyond redemption.
My compliments to the chef.
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