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Liked It “I enjoy all Sedaris books.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Read this ONLY for The Santaland Diaries, which is hilarious. I was disappointed in the rest of this book. Having enjoyed Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family, I have been picking up Sedaris' other books. I believe this one is his earliest, and that seems to be the problem. He is still...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“I liked it, but not as much as Me Talk Funny or some of his other stuff. I was also in a really bad, depressed mood, so that may have something to do with my lack of real enjoyment. I think though that he is much better at memoir stuff. Most of it consists of weird short stories--which I am not a fan of, but the ones that were true (the elf story because i've read his stuff before, I know that it is true) are definitely the funniest.”
Lisa R wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Half of it is fiction by Dave, and I like his non-fiction essays way better. ”
Jesse O wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I enjoy all Sedaris books.”
Alice F wrote this review Wednesday, November 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“inimitable sedaris”
jo g wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“didn't capture me like his other books”
Comic Mom wrote this review Monday, November 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Fun, easy read. Light humor that can cause deeper thinking at times.”
Jim G wrote this review Monday, October 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I laughed so hard I snorted!”
rosanna f wrote this review Friday, October 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This was a surpise, but now I know why there is such a fuss about David Sedaris.
The Black Jackal wrote this review Thursday, October 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Crude, bitter, sarcastic, and funny. The four words I would use to describe this collection - not seperately, but as a whole. Every story is described by these four words. It was a fast, easy read (I was done in less than four days).
Perhaps I am uneducated in the definition of "essay," but I couldn't see why Sedaris's last few stories were essays rather than plain old short stories like the rest of his collection. Certainly, they were a little less unbelievable and wild, but they had a very similar makeup and execution as the short stories did. Besides, the inside of the cover of the book says everything contained therein was fiction! I am so confused!
I am afraid to see what "Naked" will have in store for me.
Favourite stories:
"The Last You'll Hear From Me"
"Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family"
"After Malison" (but the end is a little confusing!)”“Read this ONLY for The Santaland Diaries, which is hilarious. I was disappointed in the rest of this book. Having enjoyed Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family, I have been picking up Sedaris' other books. I believe this one is his earliest, and that seems to be the problem. He is still finding his voice in this one. Any fan of Sedaris would agree that his stength is in the humorous personal essay, drawn from what can reasonably be considered his own personal experience. The 4 essays at the end of this book, including The Santaland Diaries, are in this vein. The stories however, are just the opposite. They are obviously not written from the point of view of the Sedaris we know. Rather, these first person narrators are complete fabrications. Often, they are not believeable or endearing. Sedaris can have a bit of a mean streak, but some of these narrators are truly mean-spirited. These stories are not what I've come to expect from Sedaris' other work, and frankly, they are not very good by comparison. I can imagine the feedback he got after publication--"stick with the essays, those really work. The stories, not so much." The true fan may enjoy seeing the evolution of his style, but I couldn't stomach reading more than the first several stories. I skipped to the end and read all the essays, though. ”
Happy Traveler wrote this review Thursday, October 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
