Word: owen
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...DAVID OWEN's The Walls Around Us magically reconstructs the dry condescension of "How-to books" into tales of adventure, quests for knowledge, and lots of jokes (most on him). "House Restoration" may stir memories of Dad's growling out back at the water pipes, of Mom's repainting the dining room yet another sickening mauve, or of your finally washing the dishes, but for Owen it is a way to replay long-gone childhood in style...
...Owen is now really a "free" kid: "I love buying expensive power tools and using them to wreck various parts of my house," he celebrates at his book's opening...
...book is not all about destruction--although his dining room has been suffering this stage wall-banging for two years now. ("It becomes invisible after a while," Owen explained in an interview). The Walls Around Us is also about discovery. Owen introduces the reader to every power tool and house building material, from his favorite electric miter saw to roof shingles and shakes, and also to many people--from a hardcore hardware man to the ghosts harbored inside his own house's walls. When Owen was stripping the "crazy wallpaper" from his daughter's bedroom, he discovered ancient tabloids...
Kinky or not, Owen is clearheaded about house behavior. "When a new family moves into a house," he says truthfully, "water begins to drip from the chandelier." The new householder either pays local artisans or ruins things himself. Owen doesn't exactly tell you how, but he gives you enough information (in the "Fear of Lumber" chapter) so that the guys in bib overalls at the lumberyard won't sneer. He is especially good on roof slopes and pitches and household electricity. Owen strums his mandolin in praise of electric miter saws ("Yeah, if you can afford one," says...
...writing is brisk and funny where it is not tragic, though a bit heavy on "yikes" (as in, "For every human being on earth, there are 1,500 lbs. of termites. Yikes!"). It was Little Orphan Annie who said, "Yikes." Maybe Owen could alternate a few "arffs" in his next book, for Sandy...