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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 814.54
EAN: 9780316776967
ISBN: 0316776963
Label: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: June 05, 2001
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Studio: Back Bay Books
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
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 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
Product Description:
A new collection from David Sedaris is cause for jubilation. His recent move to Paris has inspired hilarious pieces, including Me Talk Pretty One Day, about his attempts to learn French. His family is another inspiration. You Cant Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as restaurant meals presented in ludicrous towers and cashiers with 6-inch fingernails. Compared by The New Yorker to Twain and Hawthorne, Sedaris has become one of our best-loved authors.
Average Rating: 
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David Sedaris will make you laugh, as he makes fun of himself, and the people he meets along the way. This is especially great to listen to on long road trips when you need more than music to get you through the drive.
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I did not receive the books I ordered, but I did get a full refund.
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Mr Sedaris Writes really funny stories and a lot of them reveal something about being human. I often identify with these insights and feel less alone.
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Again, David rocks. I can go on and on about his witty observations and uniqueness and what-have-you, but I shan't. All I know is that the book makes me laugh and I really find many things that are meant to make me laugh to be unfunny. I accidentally left this book at a deli and the staff was sad when I came to retrieve it. It was living behind the bar and the employees were grabbing quick reads between shifts. It probably is now filled with innumerable germs and food borne bacteria but I love it and will not part with it and still reread it when I need a lift--which is quite often.
I like to retell Sedaris stories. My favorite from Me Talk Pretty is the one where David compares his boyhood experience watching a Herbie;the talking car movie in the States with that of his boyfriend Hugh who watched it in an African country. Hugh's father, a diplomate, was late picking him up from the theater so he had to wait outside while a dead man hung from a post, swinging in the breeze.
I never tire of hearing about my husband's crazy and fascinating foreign childhood.
Our Lives Have Gone To The Dogs
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I was enjoying the book in the beginning, when David was dealing with his lisp and all. Sedaris is a very witty writer and I appreciate that. However, by the middle of the book I was losing interest. The character became less witty and more irritating as he progressed through adulthood in Paris. He led a life so sad, even Sedaris failed at putting an interesting spin on it.
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