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I love David Sedaris, but this book felt darker and less funny to me. Plus, there were uncomfortable sexual undertones that made it sound much more like a regular autobiography instead of one that was supposed to evoke a comedic reaction. Overall, I just really didn't enjoy it nearly as much as, say, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" or "Naked".
Ouch.But there's a humor there as well that can't help but make you chuckle: "I peeled away my [nicotine] patch last night and was disgusted by the cruddy shadow it left. A woman can throw her newborn child from the roof of a high-rise building. I've read, and heard, that I needed to read some of his other works. What I've been doing instead is rolling index cards into little tubes.
In particular, I liked his long treatise on his efforts to give up smoking during a long visit to Japan:[In regards to depictions of smoking in high school textbooks,] Sedaris wrote, "It seems crazy to cut smoking mothers out of textbooks, but within a few years they won't be allowed in movies either. This was my first David Sedaris book, I know I've read at least one other article, and I may have read others (but I never paid attention to who the author was). It feels like I've been wearing a bumper sticker, so instead of replacing the one I took off, I think I'll just go without and see what happens. 276). She can then retrieve the body and stomp on it while shooting into the windows of a day care center, but to celebrate these murders by lighting a cigarette is to send a harmful message.
As for my three hundred dollars' worth of lozenges, I still haven't opened them, and don't think I'm going to. I'm chuckling even as I type this.There's enough here that I want more. The uniqueness of the cover art on his many books makes it easy to remember that his books are all around the bookstores.So I gave it a try with When You Are Engulfed in Flames.I enjoyed it, and was surprised later to read that many loyal fans considered this collection of essays a let-down. I put one in my mouth when I sit down to write, and then I slowly chew it to a paste and swallow it. There are, after all, young people watching, and we wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea" (p.
250-251). I'm now up to six a day and am wondering if I should switch to a lighter, unlined brand" (p. Time to look for one of those distinctive covers.
David has always been funny, but this CD seemed not just funny but insightful and sensitive. He's brillant and human and generous to share his observations with us. I purchased the CD because his inflections and voice imitations provide an extra layer of hilarity. I just hope I don't sit next to him on an airplane.
Peacock, her "margarine hair" or her forced back scratches. Sedaris is quite gifted at mining humor from the dry and mundane "everyday" happenings of life.
The other parents at my son's Tae Kwan Do studio still look at me funny. Loved this book - absolutely priceless.
This book and "Naked" are the only two Sedaris books I've read thusfar; looking forward to reading all of his books. ("There's that woman who sits in the corner reading and bursts into laughter every few minutes.").Ah.
Little do they know the wonderful reason. (I'm quite sure I'll never forget Mrs.
(Gives me the willies just thinking about it.).
The last piece, about giving up cigs, feels overly long but stays with you. Probably my least favourite David Sedaris book that I've read but it's still pretty fantastic. Some of the stories are proper laugh-out-loud affairs while others are oddly touching. Sedaris could write pretty much anything and I'd read it. Definitely worth the read but if a gift for a Sedaris newcomer perhaps go for Naked instead.
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