Rating: 
Summary: Why Did I Buy This?
Review: I'm a fairly tolerant reader, but I threw this book into the trash after finishing 2/3rds. Truly awful--sophomoric, dull, and pretentious...My book club selected it based on one member's recommendation--the others hated it so much that we only talked about the book for three minutes--that was as long as we could be polite.
Rating:
Summary: Can I get a refund?
Review: I bought the book with much anticipated expectation. Its reviews promised a funny-can't-put-down-must-read-book.
All I can say is that I read it. Now I want a refund so I can buy something REALLY FUNNY. And belive me, I LOVE DARK HUMOR. But this felt short. If your readers really want to read A FUNNY BOOK, READ "e" by Matt Beaumont or any of the three books by Margot Kaufman. Now THOSE are funny!
Rating: 
Summary: self-exposure
Review: After reading this novel, I now wonder what Sedaris has left to write about. He has covered his family - through funny quips, anecdotes, and sidebars, throughout the rest of his novels, and continues on in this book. Although it was the typical amusing/fast read of a Sedaris, I perhaps was looking for something new or more by this point in his career. On the other hand, I couldn't rate it lower than 4 stars, being after all the amusing/fast read that I wanted/expected in the first place.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat disappointing
Review: I imagine that, in person, David Sedaris is an absolute crackerjack storyteller. He has a gift for nuance and detail; unfortunately, in written form his stories seem to lack backbone. Throughout the entire book, I kept feeling as though a dimension was missing -- that the essays needed some animated hand gestures or verbal emphasis, to complete them."The Youth in Asia", a long drawn-out paean to his family's pets, is not nearly as interesting as he thinks it is, and "I Almost Saw this Girl Get Killed" is almost interesting... but not quite. The other essays were better, but only the first one, "Go Carolina" was laugh-out-loud funny.
Rating: 
Summary: Unless you enjoy essays....don't read this
Review: The book is compromised of a series of essays about his life but I didn't think David Sedaris got his point across in this book. Or if he did, it flew right over my head. The stories were cute and funny but not at all moving like I was told they would be. A book that would be enjoyed by those that enjoy a book filled with short stories/essays.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the funniest books I've ever read
Review: This is one of the books out there that deserves more than 5 stars. I have read this book multiple times, and every time it makes me laugh. Crafting humor in the written word is a difficult task, and to me it seems that many of the humor books published today are quite negative, condescending, or esoteric. David Sedaris charmingly avoids these pitfalls and crafts humor out of the ordinary which is original, self-effacing, insightful, and perennially funny. His perspective on the world is at once accessible to resonate with everyday experience, and sufficiently skewed to be laugh out loud funny. I have read many other books of this genre, but David Sedaris is far and away the best. His other books, Naked, Barrel Fever, and Holidays on Ice are all worthwhile reads, but Me Talk Pretty One Day is a wonderful place to start. Its simplicity, deft use of language, and unabashed comedic styling will leave you wanting to read all of his work.
Rating:
Summary: David Sedaris is great fun
Review: David Sedaris has some great stories to tell, from his encounter with his speech therapist in grade school to being called a "dirty froggy" on the Paris Metro. If you are literate and you obviously are because you are reading this, click the button that says "BUY" now. You won't regret it. (Plus having this book in your collection will impress your indie friends).
Rating:
Summary: Funny
Review: This book is very funny. It has lots of great stories that will make you laugh!
Rating:
Summary: Fragmented
Review: This book- the first I've read by this author- made me laugh out loud. "Jesus Shaves" in particular was absolutely hilarious for me, someone who lived in another country, struggled through learning a second language, and now teaches it. However, I found the book to lack overall structure and coherence- it was so fragmented that it was difficult to see the entire picture, to understand how the author developed and grew as a person. It almost seemed to me that this would actually have been better as two books instead of one- the first, a growing up dysfunctional sort of story, the second, an exploration of culture and identity. This would also have given the author a chance to more fully develop the other characters in the story- his parents, siblings, and boyfriend- as is, many of them are sketchy at best. Still, despite the lack of organization, I really enjoyed reading this book, and would definitely consider reading more by this author.
Rating:
Summary: A cure for the fear of flying.
Review: Sedaris will have you laughing out loud. This is pure satire from a gifted mind. I read this on the airplane recently and I completely forgot to be nervous or afraid. I was laughing so hard, I had to run to that tiny bathroom. Other passengers must have wondered if I was on drugs... It's just that funny.
|
