Last night I finished reading Sleepwalk with Me. It's a charmingly disarming collection of personal anecdotes from Mike Birbiglia which incorporates elements of both his one man show of the same title, and longer, more intricate versions of some of his bits from his comedy career.
I first found out about Monsieur Birbiglia from the strange and wonderful stand-up compilation Invite Them Up, wherein he has ten minutes of very witty material. Mike is the kind of comedian that makes you think "Maybe there are some very funny people in my life that just haven't been given the proper forum..." I say this because he makes me think of quiet coworkers that one day say something in just the right manner that you realize "Oh my God, this guy is hysterical, how is he not harnessing this untapped ability?" The good thing is that Mike was also aware of this and has made a varied and prolific career out of being charming and funny. His albums are fantastic, not a bit of filler on them. He's also contributed pieces to This American Life on a semi-consistent basis, as well as The Moth Podcast, each time displaying his seemingly innate ability to make the incredibly personal quite relatable.
In his book Sleepwalk with Me he jumps around in roughly autobiographic order, sharing stories that both explain who he is and where his jokes and perspectives originate. For a comedy fan like myself it was astoundingly enjoyable to see in greater detail where his bits had their roots. It was refreshingly honest, especially for today's world of unending irony and hipper-than thou self awareness. Reading Mike's book, you feel like it's just a friend of yours telling you about his life as though you'd known someone a long time but had never really learned about their history. He has a very unique way of telling a story, with an amusingly drawling diction that, when read in that same voice, is very much like he's in the room with you. I just can't say enough positive things about this book. Hey, it's even a quick read, which is a nice change of pace from some of the more esoteric door-stops I've tackled lately.
The book itself is derived from his one man show that centers around a particularly traumatic incident. It stems from a sleep disorder in which his body still moves and acts out his dreams even though it should be still (Sleepwalking, duh). On my initial read-through I was uncertain how he chose the structure and framing device for all of the isolated anecdotes, until I reached the final chapter. It then dawned on me that the entire book is an incredibly detailed preamble/back-story for this one bad incident. Upon realizing this, my head exploded.
That's why he's a great story teller - you don't realize you've been led down a prim-rose path until you're in the thick of it and suddenly it becomes apparent that everything has been set in particular places on purpose and there was little, if any, wasted space. His ability to share the devastatingly honest and painful parts of his childhood, all the way to his professional endeavors (and failures) makes you appreciate the fact that he has found success on his terms. Birbiglia knows his strengths and his weaknesses and has made both work for his life's purpose.
In particular, there is a story from the latter half of the book he shared on the Moth podcast, in which he details the painful and difficult (as though there's any other kind) end to a long and meaningful relationship. It's an experience that reminds the reader how breakups are hard on us not just for the loss of a relationship, but that we may be holding someone back from being a better person. Thankfully I've been in a wonderful and committed relationship for years, but it's a reminder that you should always strive to be the best person you can, not just for yourself but to allow those you love to grow to be the people they want to be as well. Reading it (and hearing him tell it, which made it even more funny and uncomfortable, simultaneously) made me appreciate the better half that I'd found, and I am thankful every day that I have someone so wonderful to share my life with.
It's a good thing when you pick up a book looking for a fun and quick read, only to put it down in the end with the realization that you've learned something about yourself through another person's experience.
I first found out about Monsieur Birbiglia from the strange and wonderful stand-up compilation Invite Them Up, wherein he has ten minutes of very witty material. Mike is the kind of comedian that makes you think "Maybe there are some very funny people in my life that just haven't been given the proper forum..." I say this because he makes me think of quiet coworkers that one day say something in just the right manner that you realize "Oh my God, this guy is hysterical, how is he not harnessing this untapped ability?" The good thing is that Mike was also aware of this and has made a varied and prolific career out of being charming and funny. His albums are fantastic, not a bit of filler on them. He's also contributed pieces to This American Life on a semi-consistent basis, as well as The Moth Podcast, each time displaying his seemingly innate ability to make the incredibly personal quite relatable.
In his book Sleepwalk with Me he jumps around in roughly autobiographic order, sharing stories that both explain who he is and where his jokes and perspectives originate. For a comedy fan like myself it was astoundingly enjoyable to see in greater detail where his bits had their roots. It was refreshingly honest, especially for today's world of unending irony and hipper-than thou self awareness. Reading Mike's book, you feel like it's just a friend of yours telling you about his life as though you'd known someone a long time but had never really learned about their history. He has a very unique way of telling a story, with an amusingly drawling diction that, when read in that same voice, is very much like he's in the room with you. I just can't say enough positive things about this book. Hey, it's even a quick read, which is a nice change of pace from some of the more esoteric door-stops I've tackled lately.
The book itself is derived from his one man show that centers around a particularly traumatic incident. It stems from a sleep disorder in which his body still moves and acts out his dreams even though it should be still (Sleepwalking, duh). On my initial read-through I was uncertain how he chose the structure and framing device for all of the isolated anecdotes, until I reached the final chapter. It then dawned on me that the entire book is an incredibly detailed preamble/back-story for this one bad incident. Upon realizing this, my head exploded.
That's why he's a great story teller - you don't realize you've been led down a prim-rose path until you're in the thick of it and suddenly it becomes apparent that everything has been set in particular places on purpose and there was little, if any, wasted space. His ability to share the devastatingly honest and painful parts of his childhood, all the way to his professional endeavors (and failures) makes you appreciate the fact that he has found success on his terms. Birbiglia knows his strengths and his weaknesses and has made both work for his life's purpose.
In particular, there is a story from the latter half of the book he shared on the Moth podcast, in which he details the painful and difficult (as though there's any other kind) end to a long and meaningful relationship. It's an experience that reminds the reader how breakups are hard on us not just for the loss of a relationship, but that we may be holding someone back from being a better person. Thankfully I've been in a wonderful and committed relationship for years, but it's a reminder that you should always strive to be the best person you can, not just for yourself but to allow those you love to grow to be the people they want to be as well. Reading it (and hearing him tell it, which made it even more funny and uncomfortable, simultaneously) made me appreciate the better half that I'd found, and I am thankful every day that I have someone so wonderful to share my life with.
It's a good thing when you pick up a book looking for a fun and quick read, only to put it down in the end with the realization that you've learned something about yourself through another person's experience.
