The Tooth Fairy
Parents, Lovers, and Other Wayward Deities (A Memoir)
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In shimmering prose that weaves among intimate confessions, deadpan asides, and piercing observations on the fear and turmoil that defined the long decade after 9/11, Clifford Chase tells the stories that have shaped his adulthood. Â There are his aging parents, whose disagreements sharpen as their health declines; and his beloved brother, lost tragically to AIDS; and his long-term boyfriend—always present, but always kept at a distance. Â There is also the revelatory, joyful music of the B-52s, Chase’s sexual confusion in his twenties, and more recently, the mysterious appearance in his luggage of weird objects from Iran the year his mother died. Â In the midst of all this is Chase’s singular voice—incisive, wry, confiding, by turns cool or emotional, always engaging. Â The way this book is written—in pitch-perfect fragments—is crucial to Chase’s deeper message: that we experience and remember in short bursts of insight, terror, comedy, and love. As ambitious in its form as it is in its radical candor, The Tooth Fairy is the rare memoir that can truly claim to rethink the genre.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Chase (Winkie) has deliberately or not written a memoir for the Twitter age. Constructed of almost entirely of arch single sentences interspersed on rare occasions with some longer paragraphs, he reflects on his family, coming-of-age, sex and his sexual identity, and even someone else's lost luggage. The prose consists of "stray happy memories to counterbalance" difficult episodes from his life. His twee-dious style and content could generate a few knowing smiles from fans, but readers unfamiliar with Chase may find it hard to relate to. When he writes, "Even now, some combination of dread, embarrassment, and longing stops me after each sentence, and I have to take a breath," he is being nakedly honest. But his highly personal feelings, insights, and breakthroughs particularly in regards to understanding his brother reveal his insecurities, not universal truths, making it hard for the reader to connect with the memoirist. Likewise, when describing common issues such as aging/dying parents Chase mainly discusses playing "couples counselor" to his folks, and his taking sides. When he focuses on one subject, rather than flits around multiple characters and events Chase shows the strengths of his gimmicky format. However, the few touching parts here are far greater than the whole.
