Belgian Tervuren Book

True story: I was in the midst of reading Tom Davis' memoir when our phone rang... and it was a campaigner from the Midwest PAC trying to raise support for his former partner in comedy, U.S. Senator from Minnesota Al Franken, of all things. I couldn't resist telling her that I was reading this book, though I turned her down anyway, this time. I hope she didn't think those things were related.

I did find this book rambling and choppy, though, more a series of flashbacks told out of order than a coherent autobiography. This is not a tell-all book, either, although it gives that impression from time to time. Davis did do lots of drugs, which are described in loving (if sometimes censorious) detail, and made out with lots of women, who are described in rather less detail. He also seems to be bitter about his relative lack of success'even though he had a great run and made lots of friends in high places and low. I guess it depends on whom you're measuring yourself against. (By the way: "Franken and Davis" really is more euphonious than "Davis and Franken," and not at all confusing'it's not just Franken's mom who thinks so, Tom.)

Davis was certainly familiar with some fascinating people, before he moved out to his house in the woods, including countercultural icons like the Grateful Dead and Timothy Leary, as well as the show-business folks with whom he's more obviously linked. He drops some fascinating tidbits about Jerry Garcia, Dan Aykroyd, Don Novello, Chris Farley... there are names here you'll want to read about.

He went to some interesting places, too... though Davis' visits to exotic locales always seemed to be cut short by some random, seemingly minor setback (sometimes one that didn't even happen to him personally), usually signaled by the phrase "Time to leave..." Like this one:"We walked over to sit on a wall under some shade trees, but the monkeys started to fuck with us. When they began to throw small stones, I decided it was time to leave Kathmandu."
'p.57Or this: "I was told of a house on the beach where a dog entered and fell asleep on someone's bed pillow on his mattress. He took the dog out and beat it to death with a chair leg. Time to leave Goa."
'p.63

Neither a glorious train wreck like Warren Zevon, nor yet a role model... Davis is a guy from Minnesota who put himself into some right places at some very right times, and on the whole did right well for himself. His life has certainly been interesting enough to write a book about... I'm just not entirely sure that this is the book that should have been written about it.