Ravenweb Blog

Me Talk Pretty One Day is a funny collection of essays in which Sedaris writes about a variety of true life experiences. He devotes space to his Greek-American family (especially his father), employers, tourists, nudists, speech therapists, and himself. The best essays in the book are the pieces that focus on France and the author's attempts to learn to speak French. Having also recently read Barrel Fever , I would say Me Talk Pretty One Day is definitely the better of the two books and that Sedaris is clearly at his best writing non-fiction, where his cranky humor really shines. From what I've heard, these essays are even funnier when heard aloud, with the delivery raising them up a notch.

I finally got around to reading some (David) Sedaris. I had heard good things about his prose and essays, and had been meaning to pick up one of his books. Fortunately, a friendly neighbor recently loaned me two of his books as a housewarming present. I started with Barrel Fever , which was the author's first book, and consists of essays and short fiction. I enjoyed the book and the author's mordant humor, but thought the writing was definitely characteristic of a young writer trying to find his voice. For the most part, the essays were better than the fiction. Of all the pieces, I probably enjoyed "SantaLand Diaries" the most, which humorously recounts the author's experiences working as an elf at Macy's. Overall, I'm glad I read Barrel Fever and look forward to reading later, more polished writings by Sedaris.

Don't Get Too Comfortable is a funny and sharp collection of essays that skewer current bourgeoisie cultural excess. The essays include inventories of Hooters Air and a cryogenics storage facility, critiques of Paris couture and Beverly Hills "re-facing" salons, the author's observations while working as a cabana boy at a plush South Beach hotel, and more.