Rating: 
Summary: well-written humor
Review: The typical problem with humor is that it appeals only to certain groups; while one group finds a work the pinnacle of intlect, another may find it a pile of stewing unamusement. Sedaris writes fairly universally-appealing humor. His essays are very clearly written, witty and even insightful. He has displayed his capabilities very well with this work
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly hysterically funny . . .
Review: This is the first book by David Sedaris that I have read and, for the most part, it was very funny. During certain portions (I am ashamed to include one short scatological piece among them) I was laughing out loud. Others were very funny in a more "dry" sense.The first portion of the book is Sedaris' autobiography of growing up in a quirky family, dealing with a not-too-successful speech therapist, and working (?) as an artist and in other trades. Next, he describes his stays in France at his friend's house in the country and in Paris. Anyone who has spent time in France, and struggled with the French language, will be able to relate to the humourous situations. This is definitely a good book if you need some chuckles and some loud laughs!
Rating: 
Summary: Him write any better?
Review: Perhaps I bought this book at the wrong time or at least with the wrong impression; while this collection of essays did leave several smirks, there wasn't much in the way of the howlingly funny, gutbusting hilarity, wacky hi-jinks that people keep reviewing about. While it was interesting to divide the book in half according to setting/stage of his life, the material rages back and forth without much in the way of structure to keep the reader interested. Self-deprecating? You betcha. Motivated? Oh mais oui. Entertaining? Sure, but what's the purpose? The family portraits he presents only confuse me. Are we to be sympathetic to David because his foul-mouthed brother shares a dialouge with his father that he himself could not have? Are we supposed to feel smug and superior for David because of this? Why is a sister who wants to constantly disguise herself in the name of subversive humour be portrayed in a "Gosh, that nutty sister. What will she think of next to challenge the boundaries of physical comedy?" manner. Too many passages seem to relate a story whereby David suffers a character assassination from someone he doesn't even know, yet instead of defending himself, he presents himself as someone who shouldn't even bother. Why is it that Sedaris damns the local hick culture yet talks for three pages in disgusting detail about a bowel movement he finds in a toilet? Sure, the social taboos we hold in place are then brought to the front to be examined, but by the end, I wish he hadn't even bothered. Overall the book leaves me not with a better understanding of the author, but rather a feeling like not wanting to spend too much time trapped in a crowded subway train with him. I know this sounds like a huge personal criticism of Sedaris, yet its not intended to be. Rather the book just confuses more than it entertains. I can relate to feeling disjointed in school but otherwise there are just too many loose ends in the book for my taste. Perhaps I need to read more of his work to get a better grounding of his style and mannerisms, but for the most part, I'm more content to think about my own farcical attempts at the French language than hear about his.
Rating:
Summary: Coming up for air
Review: Ever notice that most of the books we elect to read are tied to that notion that we need to constantly be aware that we are bettering ourselves? You know, keep up with the new novelists, pace yourself with philosophy, social comment, heavy thesaurus-impacted stories, somehow neglecting that tiny inner voice that says "Entertain me!" Well, here is the antidote: another skyride with David Sedaris whose Mark Twain style surfaces shared foibles and makes them hilarious instead of embarassing moments. I didn't find myself laughing out loud the way all the promo for this little tome guarantees, but I sure stayed with it, big grin spreading across my face, even giving up an invitation for a night out at an escapist triller movie in favor of finishing this little piece of joy. David Sedaris is funny and tender and unafraid to talk about his thinking patterns, +/- autobiographical history, and his incidental sexuality like most folks ramble on about the weather. Puts things into perspective.........and boy do we need that!
Rating:
Summary: Fun Gem!
Review: Just wondering through a small independent bookstore one evening, having just been talking to a colleague about writing nonfiction, this book caught my attention. Paging through it, stories regarding "France" caught my attention. (One of my favorite places in the world!) Sedaris's name sounded vaguely familiar (NPR). Got it home and cherished each story, laughing at every page, reading bits out to loud to friends. Really fun, relaxing, enjoyable!
Rating: 
Summary: NOT SO PRETTY AS BEFORE
Review: I enjoyed stray lines from TALK, but overall it seemed much less like a cohesive whole than NAKED and certainly less surprising and funny than BARREL FEVER. Some of the essays were downright pedestrian. Vertical food presentation? Who cares. Sometimes they lose luggage on airplanes, too. And the rant against technology? Hey, how about an article about how tough it is to program a VCR. Some of the pieces seemed tame enough and [slow] enough for NPR but not insightful and edgy enough for a book with David Sedaris' name on the cover.
Rating:
Summary: Want to laugh--buy it. Don't want to laugh--don't
Review: I have to admit I was a bit hesitant to read this book. My feeling was that this was just a cheap attempt to capitalize on the success of "Naked", and to write a book that was essentially exactly the same. I'm happy to report that my fears were unfounded. Sedaris again proves he is perhaps the funniest writer in America. The best pieces in here are funny to the point that I almost needed an oxygen tank to restore normal breathing after laughing so hard for so long. In fact, the funniest pieces are so good that when you get to a story that merely makes you chuckle softly to yourself, it seems like a let-down. The most consistently hilarious stories in "Me Talk Pretty One Day" are the ones dealing with the odd idiosyncrosies of Sedaris' father. However, by far the funniest story of the bunch had to be "You Can't Kill the Rooster", about Sedaris' foul-mouthed, white trash younger brother. Admittedly, I started to get somewhat disappointed about halfway through the book, as that is where a few stories that can be best described as "filler" seemed to seep in. But I am happy to report that at that point the book quickly moves to the stories detailing Sedaris' experience of living in France, and the hilarity starts all over again. Recommending this is simple...if you like to laugh, read it, if you hate laughing, don't read it.
Rating:
Summary: a disturbingly funny take on life
Review: In what might be the most unusual autobiography ever, David Sedaris has seamlessly melded his trademark brand of humor with the often bitter truth of reality, and in turn, presents the reader with something almost magical. Divided into two halves, the book traces his life before and after moving to France. The short, defined chapters make this book an excellent summer read, and the content is equally as engaging. His humor is able to transcend the boundaries of what we've come to know humor writing as in the 20th century, and create a new, unique style. Whereas observational humor is typically funny due to its normalcy, Sedaris makes his absurd and bizarre life a disturbingly funny reality. I highly recommend this book to anyone, and would also recommend the equally as good "Naked," also by Sedaris.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to put down,hard to forget
Review: I approached this book with great anticipation, because I had already read any and everything I could find that David Sedaris had written.The book more than met my expectations.My only regret was when I finished it,which,was too soon.Every chapter is a gem.I've done nothing but tell anyone who will listen,even make eye contact,to read this book.The thrill of my life,was to have my copy authographed by David,when he appeared at one of our local bookstores.He was a genuinely nice guy and hearing him in person,is an experience I will cherish forever.
Rating:
Summary: Not David Sedaris' best, but still damn funny...
Review: The excitement which gripped me when I saw that David Sedaris' new book, ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY, had come out was considerable. After all, this is the author whose comic voice I read as it developed in his first collection (BARREL FEVER). In that collection, Sedaris evolved from a rather aggravatingly shock-oriented short story author, to a man who was able to mine his considerably ridiculous autobiography for such brilliant short stories as GIANTESS and THE SANTALAND DIARIES. Then Sedaris wrote NAKED, a book that I return to once a year because of its amazing critical wit, a vitriol-filled eye that Sedaris does not spare himself from. Balancing this evil eye is a strong sense of humanity and heart (espeically in such short stories as ASHES) that keep the author from seeming too gutless and cruel. And now comes Sedaris' third collection of essays, "Me Talk Pretty One Day". True, the collection has many things going for it. Even though Sedaris is in a happy, well-adjusted relationship, his satirical vision is still intact. The author can crack a joke that bends you to its will, forcing you to laugh. But all of those things are present in NAKED. What this collection lacks are those things present in his earlier collection-- a sense of coherency and the insights that his critical eyes lead him to. NAKED is not framed as a coherent narrative yet it clearly follows the author from young childhood through to adulthood in his various journeys of self, whether hitchhiking with a quadraplegic or house cleaning for a lesbian anti-semite. ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY is packaged as a coherent narrative of Sedaris' experiences with the language, but rarely do the essays seem to really interrelate until the second half of the book when he gets to France. A lot of the time, the essays seem more catty than observational. Sedaris rests on the laurels of his humor, as opposed to making the kind of brilliant observations that mark his stories as something special. This collection is very funny, but it lacks the backbone that Sedaris' fans have come to expect from him. So, in other words, wait for the paperback, go buy NAKED, and read it a couple of times...
| 
