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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2003)
CcMtUf Out Cutuuf Out ZatiuCf Out Catúuf, Out Culúuf Out CcUi*Uf, Out Cati+uj Out Cutuuf REVIEWS T he C helsea W histle by Michelle Tea; Seal Press, 2002; $14.95 softcover hildhood is m orbid" is the perfect start for M ichelle Tea’s latest m em oir about her “sicko" (pre)adolescent life in B oston’s desolate slum of C helsea. The Chelsea Whistle is the a u th o r’s uncontrived, debaucherous account of growing up working class during the ’70s and ’80s with, inevitably, all related tragic ingre dients included: a good-for-nothing drunk of a dad, an absent mom, a perverted stepfather, violent and/or sex-crazed neighborhood hoys, etc. She is Little Red Riding Hcxxl hut a notch smarter, making it out alive and away from the deceitful harbor of the nuclear family and the disheartening small town. A survivor of the mean Catholic schixil nuns of O ur Lady of Assumption, harsh Italian dance teachers, horrid tap shoes and much more, the Sister Spit rebel has come back with a memoir to shout out about the treacherous world in which little girls are raised. Chelsea covers Tea’s unglamorous up bringing— leading to the eccentric gritty dyke life confessed in her earlier work Valencia — with two-thirds focusing on tragicomic child hood sketches and lots of prequecr explorations of love. A fast-speed stream of consciousness glues unconnected memories together, easily flowing from lover hoy G oths into the quintessential last straight hoy on to the first girl we all really want to read about: “Me and Clive really had a terrible relationship, and it went on forever. But somewhere between its start and finish came Juniper. She was Mack’s girlfriend, and she was beautiful. T he whole point of Mack was that he led up to Juniper." T he anecdotes hop along, hut at times, the lovely Tea gets tex) amorous with herself and the equation of coolness with being stoned, smoking lots of cigarettes and drinking tons of booze takes over. T h at supposedly edgy waft is intended to indicate a hip urban air, but repetitively stressing the point becomes ulti mately tiresome and causes the story to lose its elegant stride. All in all Chelsea is an easy, entertaining read even though the book deals with plenty of misfortune and depressing characters. Some how the author continually has the amazing ability to lift herself above it all and extract the drollness out o f every situation. Or, like she confides in this self-referen tial passage early on in the memoir: “Sitting casually at a strange family’s house, wiping the Ragu from my lips w ith a paper towel as I continued ...‘A nd T h e n T h e Cops C am e A nd Dragged My Dad O u t O f T h e House. A nd I Had To G o To School T h e Very N ext Day!’ I’d shake my head at the absurdity of life and take a sip of C oke, while my audi ence lingered on th e last of my words, cluck ing their tongues, m arveling at th e insane Restaurant & Lounge Visit us at www.starkys.com G ood F ood G ood W ine l G ood C onversation 503 230.7980 M o n -Th u rs 11:30-11pm Fdi-Sat 11:30-\lidnight I . i i i r h t\ I )inner 232 M V 12th St * 2913 SE Stark Michelle Tea pens a prequel to Valencia life I’d survived, and the ease with which I’d let my tragedies roll off me." It’s a skill to be proud of. — Els Debbaut ~ Casual Dining ~ Lounge ~ Game Room Open 4:00 Daily P to w n : A rt , S ex and M oney on the O uter C ape by Peter Manso; Scribner, 2002; $25 hardcover eter Manso’s fascinating Ptown: Art, Sex and Money on the Outer Cape tells the history of what has been called “the gayest place in America.” Formerly a haven for pirates and thieves, the quaint Portuguese (and very Catholic) fishing village became a Mecca for bohemians and artists at the end of the 19th century. By the 1950s the Massachusetts town was a popular tourist destination for gay men and lesbians, many of whom bought property and have become a political and economic force. W ith only one birth in 2000 among a year- round population of 3,500, the demographics of Provincetown have clearly shifted. The spit of land on the tip of the eastern seaboard has a poverty rate that is 60 percent higher than the rest of the state yet housing prices that make it the costliest town on Cape Cod. According to local real estate agents, 97 percent of all recent home buyers have been gay. In Ptown, the shifts in culture and demo graphics are told through the compelling expe riences of the town’s residents— some native, some transplants. From the fisherman who gets caught up in an almost comical botched smug gling episode to the famous author whose par ties are legendary for their drunken and drug- induced debauchery, every story is engrossing. It’s unfortunate that the most complete accounts have taken place since the 1970s (and are about those the author seems to know per sonally). The unique history of Provincetown is so captivating, I wish Manso had provided the same level of detail for some of the earlier sto ries. But that’s a minor quibble with a book highly worth reading. — Floyd Sldaver J H P - ~ ~ ~ 120 N W Third Avenue, Portland, O R 9 7 2 0 9 • (503) 2 2 4 -3 2 8 5 Parking Validated Smart Park Davis & Front www hobos. c i ty sea rch. com ca na castagna dinner Wednesday through Saturday • 231.7373 café castagna next door to the restaurant dinner tuesday through Sunday • 231.9959 1752 se hawthorne boulevard 111 ii Ihl tiistc MttJVtM III 1/iMll mentii, frei ¡e cV. / vvtTi hj t when yen pinclnisc n slice ef o u r hi In 1 1 eus peumlcubc with this ceurc L imi t 5969 ntntwrm L uto tai M id ■ 303Í8I6334 • non-id 1-1 • Ion B-7 [ William's on 12th French Cuisine doth Open 7 Days a week 2 0 7 5E 12th (5 0 3 ) 9 6 3 -9 2 2 6 Open Breakfast Sat & Sun starting Jan IH & 10 Both Open 7 Days a Week 21 I SF 12th ( >01) 2 10-2 181 No Reservations Necessary at uckm^n jistro
