Overview
Quentin Crisp, long famous as "one of the great stately homos of England," exiled himself to America in 1982 after he discovered that in New York "happiness rains down from the sky." Resident Alien is the often bitingly, amusing account of his love affair with the Big Apple. His affecting words cover topics from politics to prejudice, from the human spirit to the individual obstacles he faces every day in his solitary life. The spirit of his adopted city is captured as well in uniquely Crispian turns of phrase. But the real flavor of his writing lies not in the punchy one-liners but instead in his mixture of wicked humor and gentle wisdom, of raconteurial flair and analytical rigor, of almost superhuman tolerance for the follies and evils of the age.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
In these mildly entertaining diary excerpts based on his column in the New York Native, Crisp, known also as "one of the great stately homos of England" and author of The Naked Civil Servant and How to Become a Virgin, presents himself as "a free-loader, a dilettante, a butterfly on the wheel," and tells how, in his seventies, he pulled up his English roots and moved to Manhattan, where he more easily capitalized on the advantages of being a "Personality." "In the rest of the world," he says, "fame is something that happens to you but in the United States it is something you do." And do it he does. He logs in the lunches, dinners, parties, TV appearances, occasional cameo roles, free trips and other events that fill his time, while he maintains a pied--terre in a $75-a-month room in a dangerous neighborhood on New York's Lower East Side. His often amusing comments are at once self-deprecating and self-serving, with the flavor of a stand-up routine. Gracefully written, gently humorous and a paean to the generosity and warmth of Americans vs. the English, this book is sure to appeal to Crisp cognoscenti. Author tour. (Apr.)Library Journal
"I explained that I have not been only dressing in the same way for the past fifty years, but am still wearing the actual garments that kind friends gave me all that time ago.... In spite of this shocking admission, my hostesses remained calm and even paid for my lunch." This most recent book by Crisp (author of The Naked Civil Servant, also seen on PBS) is delightful reading, chronicling his last 15 years as a resident of Manhattan's Lower East Side. In wry yet gentle prose, Crisp engagingly recounts going about his "profession of being." Apparent throughout are his ability to see the good in almost any situation, his graciousness and open acceptance of others, and an intelligence and wit lacking in much of today's writing. Readers will quickly come to see life as Crisp has lived it for nearly 90 years. Highly recommended for biography and general literature collections in public libraries and for academic libraries supporting writing programs.Kevin M. Roddy, Univ. of Hawaii at HiloKirkus Reviews
Placidly whimsical observations by the ever-charming Crisp (Manners from Heaven, 1985, etc.) on his occasion-filled life as "a free-loader, a dilettante, a butterfly on the wheel."Crisp writes reviews and essays, attends openings and parties, and entertains anyone who wishes to hear his opinions, from curious strangers to lecture-hall audiences. Here he tells us briefly about the books he read, plays and movies he attended, and other things he was invited to do from 1990 to 1994. These diaries, far from being especially intimate, are culled from a regular column he wrote for the New York Native. The 86-year-old author, an expatriate Briton, would have it that his urbane facade is all there is, that no unknown quirks of personality lurk beneath his flamboyantly gay, superhumanly gracious, and baroquely eloquent public persona. When a stranger calls him at his Manhattan rooming house to request a meeting, says Crisp, "Whenever possible, I comply with his or her request on the principle that we should never say no to anything except an appeal for money." (He's listed in the phone book, so this happens rather often.) He acted as an extra in the film Philadelphia and played Queen Elizabeth I in Orlando, an experience he describes entirely as a war of endurance against his unwieldy costume. He made numerous trips around the country in order to give lectures and to promote a documentary about himself, Resident Alien; the author's pronouncements on the virtues of his adopted compatriots suggest that he is among the most generous-minded people alive. His wit is often mordant, which saves him from utter preciosity: "I have always liked death, especially other people's death, but have recently been contemplating my own with a certain amount of relish."
Admirers of the trademark Crisp style will be delighted, but it's difficult to fathom how he endures the relentless superficiality of much of his existence.