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David Sedaris became a star autobiographer on public radio, onstage in New York, and on bestseller lists, mostly on the strength of "SantaLand Diaries," a scathing, hilarious account of his stint as a Christmas elf at Macy's. (It's in two
...(more) separate collections, both worth owning, Barrel Fever and the Christmas-themed Holidays on Ice.) Sedaris's caustic gift has not deserted him in his fourth book, which mines poignant comedy from his peculiar childhood in North Carolina, his bizarre career path, and his move with his lover to France. Though his anarchic inclination to digress is his glory, Sedaris does have a theme in these reminiscences: the inability of humans to communicate. The title is his rendition in transliterated English of how he and his fellow students of French in Paris mangle the Gallic language. In the essay "Jesus Shaves," he and his classmates from many nations try to convey the concept of Easter to a Moroccan Muslim. "It is a party for the little boy of God," says one. "Then he be die one day on two... morsels of... lumber," says another. Sedaris muses on the disputes between his Protestant mother and his father, a Greek Orthodox guy whose Easter fell on a different day. Other essays explicate his deep kinship with his eccentric mom and absurd alienation from his IBM-exec dad: "To me, the greatest mystery of science continues to be that a man could father six children who shared absolutely none of his interests." Every glimpse we get of Sedaris's family and acquaintances delivers laughs and insights. He thwarts his North Carolina speech therapist ("for whom the word pen had two syllables") by cleverly avoiding all words with s sounds, which reveal the lisp she sought to correct. His midget guitar teacher, Mister Mancini, is unaware that Sedaris doesn't share his obsession with breasts, and sings "Light My Fire" all wrong--"as if he were a Webelo scout demanding a match." As a remarkably unqualified teacher at the Art Institute of Chicago, Sedaris had his class watch soap operas and assign "guessays" on what would happen in the next day's episode. It all adds up to the most distinctively skewed autobiography since Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia. The only possible reason not to read this book is if you'd rather hear the author's intrinsically funny speaking voice narrating his story. In that case, get Me Talk Pretty One Day on audio. --Tim Appelo(less)
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The very first time I heard about David Sedaris was in my English 101 class my freshman year of college. The essay “Today's Special” was written in one of my textbooks and one day while we were getting ready for a unit on reviews, my professor wanted someone to read the essay out loud to the entire class. I volunteered and one fourth through the essay, I was laughing nonstop! So I decided to buy this book and read it in my spare time. I believe it's giving me some inspiration to write humorous selections and it's lifted my spirits during some dreary days I experience. “Go Carolina”!
I highly reccommend this book for those interested in laughing material on a cloudy day.
Another book I'm currently reading is “Stuck in Downward Dog” by Canadian author Chantel Simmons. It's a humorous fiction novel about a woman who's caught in a rut and tries so hard to be perfect like her friends, but fails at everything she tries. The only things she loves that she never fails with are her cat and yoga classes. Not only that, it's inspirational about getting a life. One of the best books I'm reading right now.