Intimacy

Throughout the collection, Sedaris considers the ways in which intimate relationships have shaped his outlook on life via anecdotes involving his longtime boyfriend, Hugh, and his friendships with his five siblings. Sedaris explores this notion most explicitly in the essays “Father Time,” “Hurricane Season,” “Highfalutin,” “Pearls,” and “Pussytoes.” In “Father Time,” “Hurricane Season,” and “Pearls,” Sedaris uses descriptions of his life with Hugh in order to consider the ways in which his romantic partnership has not only lasted decades, but assumed an unconventional form. In “Father Time,” Sedaris’s memories from time spent with Hugh at their various beach houses particularly inspires these reflections. After the baby turtles hatch one summer, Sedaris and Hugh lie in bed together, talking. Sedaris says that Hugh “slips beneath the covers and I cleave to him like a barnacle, thinking of all the couples I know who no longer share a bed...