Chapter 19: 2020 – Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
David Sedaris’s 2020 diary begins in Australia, where a woman complains that her iPhone’s facial recognition fails because she looks too ugly in the morning. Back in New York, Hugh’s flu and sciatica keep him complaining, and Sedaris passes the time in waiting rooms transcribing Pimsleur Spanish lessons. As the pandemic unfolds, Sedaris notes people hoarding groceries and wearing face masks, the run on toilet paper, and the surreal sight of homeless men sleeping on airport floors. He encounters a racist “Evolution of Basketball” T-shirt in Uruguay and reflects on microinvalidations after seeing a “Social Justice Kittens” calendar.
Spring brings lockdown in New York: Nike stores close, gun sales rise, and Sedaris’s gym shuts down while even Senate gyms remain open. He writes an essay about the lighter side of self-isolation. In May, he flees to Emerald Isle, North Carolina, where mask-wearing is rare and a Korean-American friend faces racist harassment. He follows the Ahmaud Arbery case and the George Floyd protests, noting the looting and his own conflicted feelings about privilege. He attends a small protest with Amy, limping from a self-inflicted toe injury.
Summer includes a trip to England, where Sedaris picks up trash on country roads. An encounter with rude Romani youths leaves him furious, but a fan later recognizes him, restoring his faith in humanity. Fall brings the 2020 election: Sedaris feels relief when Biden wins. His father, living in assisted living, tests positive for COVID at age 97. The chapter ends with Thanksgiving with Gretchen and reflections on aging, celebrity, and the shifting language of social justice—including his own reluctance to adopt “Latinx” or embrace “queer” as an identity.
Key Events
- A woman in Brisbane claims her iPhone face ID won’t unlock because she’s “too ugly.”
- Hugh suffers from flu and sciatica; Sedaris transcribes Pimsleur Spanish lessons.
- Sedaris sees homeless men at LAX and notes the first coronavirus face masks.
- He learns about the “Social Justice Kittens” calendar and its parody tweets.
- In Uruguay, he observes a racist T-shirt and stray dogs; later he rescues a snapping turtle.
- Pandemic lockdown in New York: hoarding, store closures, Trump’s press conferences.
- He writes a BBC essay about self-isolation while Terrence McNally dies of COVID.
- After George Floyd’s murder, Sedaris watches protests from his apartment, feels guilty, and donates money.
- He visits his father outdoors at Springmoor; later his father tests positive for COVID.
- Biden wins the election; Sedaris celebrates by shopping.
- In England, rude Romani youths mock him as he picks up trash; a fan later recognizes him.
- Thanksgiving includes Gretchen showing a photo of a woman hugging a giant snail.
Character Development
David Sedaris emerges more self-aware and anxious than in earlier diaries. He acknowledges his privilege openly—calling his Upper East Side duplex “the definition of winning”—while also confessing his fear of change and his tendency to donate money rather than join protests. His frustration with political division is matched by his own aging: he admits he turned “old” this year and struggles with modern language trends like “Latinx.” He retains his dark humor, wishing a fan would run over the rude youths, but also shows genuine tenderness in phone calls with his father. His identity as a trash-picker in England becomes a source of quiet pride.
Hugh appears as a caring but irritable partner, nursing a grudge over a dream in which Sedaris left him. He helps pack up Sedaris’s father’s house and insists on optimism when Lou tests positive.
Lou Sedaris (the father) is more fragile than ever—confused, weak, and at times lucid. He calls Sedaris a “snazzy” person and tells Amy she is “the best thing I ever made,” revealing his deep but unspoken affection.
Amy Sedaris continues to ground the family with pragmatism and humor. She teaches sign language for “I am not an angry clown,” helps sort through their father’s belongings, and protests the 2020 election.
Gretchen Sedaris is eccentric (raising crickets for turtles, owning a snail-photo collection) but increasingly seen as the “thinking straight” sibling during the chaos.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Pandemic absurdity: Sedaris juxtaposes the gravity of COVID—refrigerated trucks, body counts—with trivial anecdotes like a woman cutting a hole in her mask to smoke.
- Privilege and guilt: He repeatedly questions his role as an ally, joking that his contribution to justice was buying a Snapple for his Black doorman. The motif of “shopping as comfort” appears after both tragedies and celebrations.
- Language as power: From microinvalidations to the difficulty of “Latinx” in Spanish, Sedaris examines how words shape perception and exclusion.
- Aging and change: He marks his transition from middle age to “old,” feeling disconnected from modern rebranding and digital culture (no phone book, no understanding of DoggFace).
- The outsider as observer: Whether picking up trash in England or watching protests from his terrace, Sedaris positions himself as a bystander who oscillates between guilt and detachment.
- Symbol of the snapping turtle: The furious turtle he rescues mirrors his own inner anger at the world’s absurdity—pointless but determined.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 19 captures the historic year 2020 through Sedaris’s granular, diary-style lens. Unlike previous chapters that focus on travel or family quirks, this one confronts a world in crisis: a deadly pandemic, police brutality protests, and a divisive election. Sedaris’s personal struggles—aging, family loss, creative output—are woven into the larger social fabric, showing how public events infiltrate private life. The chapter also serves as a commentary on privilege in crisis, as Sedaris repeatedly acknowledges his comfortable position while wrestling with guilt and inaction. His reflections on language, identity, and the absurdity of consumerism during lockdown add depth to the book’s overall theme of finding humor amid chaos. For readers, it provides a raw, honest record of one writer’s experience during a year that reshaped the world.
Study Questions
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How does Sedaris’s reaction to the George Floyd protests reveal his sense of privilege?
Answer: Sedaris admits he watched from his apartment, felt guilty, and ultimately donated money rather than joining the protests. He jokes about his ingrown toenail and exfoliating socks as flimsy excuses, underlining his awareness that he is “uncomfortable in the role of ally.” He expects to exaggerate his donation later, showing a self-deprecating critique of performative activism. -
What does the encounter with the Romani youths in England illustrate about Sedaris’s values?
Answer: The youths mock him while he picks up trash, throwing a wrapper on the ground. Sedaris feels dehumanized—as if his hobby is seen as lowly work. Later, a fan recognizes him and he half-jokingly asks to run over the youths. This moment shows that Sedaris values dignity and respect over wealth or fame; his identity as a trash-picker matters more than his celebrity. It also highlights his dark, vengeful humor. -
Why does Sedaris struggle with the terms “queer” and “Latinx”?
Answer: He was called “queer” in the 1970s and resents its rebranding, feeling it was forced on him. Regarding “Latinx,” he notes that only one in four Latinos is aware of it and that it’s difficult to pronounce in Spanish. Both cases reflect his broader discomfort with language as a tool of social change, and his sense of being “old” and out of touch with contemporary activism.