Rating: 
Summary: Off-beat and endearing from page 1
Review: David Sedaris' Barrel Fever was my introduction to his print stylings and, although it was certainly different enough (and daring enough) to get my attention, it struck me as being oddly impersonal. The stories that had the most effect involved his exaggerated autobiographical embarrassment at the foibles of being human and too introspective for your own good. Naked reads like a jumbled life story, where years make little difference but the characters remain the same. Whether he's revealing his painful teen years or the hilarious summers hitchhiking to various parts of this country, every note rings true. Sure, Sedaris' style is still exaggerated and surreal, but that's how life feels a lot of the time, isn't it? A trip to the nudist colony, a stint on an apple orchard that doesn't live up to its glamorous expectations, some backward lessons about the handicapped, and a slew of other selections that are both blasphemous and moving at the same time. It's pure Sedaris. I still haven't seen his perfect work (and some of it, hard as I try, still strikes me as insulting), but it's a terrific read with many great moments.
Rating:
Summary: Out of your comfort level
Review: Okay, so everyone has mixed feelings about David Sedaris' work. True. I don't consider every essay "humorous". They can be alarming, even distressing. His stories contain characters that don't act in a manner you would think. And that's the humor. Portraits of his mother as a sarcastic one-liner comedienne (see "A Plague of Tics", "Dinah, the Christmas Whore") are very funny. Painting a strange canvass of bizarre "americana" throughout, I do find that I tend to like essays I have heard him read through NPR's "This American Life". Reading "I Like Guys" and "Drama Bug" just doesn't do the work justice. Listening to Sedaris' nervous, femmy-intellectual voice puts that humor in it that makes me just laugh out loud. I've read all the David Sedaris books --- from "Barrel Fever" to "Me Talk Pretty One Day", and I must say that "Me Talk Pretty One Day" could possibly be the most palatable book yet for those of you who disdain "Naked", or are weirded-out by "Barrel Fever." And, as a current employee of Macy's (albeit the western division), I find that "The SantaLand Diaries" (from either "Barrel Fever" or "Holidays on Ice") is by far the most humorous, either reading it or hearing him recite it. For Sedars' spoken essay, "Drama Bug" and other essays by similarly hilarious writers, a good compilation to try is "This American Life" CD, also available here at Amazon!
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece of Humor
Review: This guy truly has a gift. What a twisted, wacky, hysterical piece of writing. If you don't laugh at one chapter, you'll crack up at the next. A quick read, an enjoyable one.
Rating:
Summary: CYNICAL, EXPLICIT AND OUTRAGEOUSLY HILARIOUS!
Review: Sedaris is a satirist with a tongue-in-cheek approach to just about all life's experiences. In this collection of seventeen autobiographical essays, the author takes us through a wild ride of unbelievable escapades and events in his life. From his compulsive disorders through a series of jobs, hitchhiking ventures, friendship with a prostitute, to a jaunt in a nudist camp, Sadaris tells it all. If you prefer a dry, refined literary experience, this book is going to shock the socks off you! It is a unique educational experience, but definitely not in any academic sense. This book is pure light-hearted reading, with a unique style of humour and wit that makes for straight forward, insanely hilarious reading. "Naked" is bound to produce a chuckle or two from even the most serious, staunch, intellectual reader. Read it, just for the fun of it.... because life is short and laughing is good for you!
Rating:
Summary: What's so funny?
Review: Initially, I expected more from a book with the quote "Sidesplitting" prominently displayed on the back cover. After the initial few pages, I found myself wondering why I had spent good money to read about Sedaris' youthful obsessive-compulsive behavior ,and set the book aside. I picked it back up a few days later, and tried again. Apparently, that first exposure served as an innoculation of some sort, because I was able to finish the book and enjoyed much of it. However, I found only one true belly laugh in the whole thing and precious few grins. Instead, I found some very good storytelling, and was at times reminded of the writings of another NPR staple, Garrison Keillor, whose "Lake Woebegone" people (the town itself may be fictional, but the events seem to come from Keillor's personal memory) are also more or less disfunctional, but described with a similar combination of disdain and affection. So, _Naked_ didn't live up to the cover blurbs, but I still found it an interesting read. I haven't finished _Me Talk Pretty Some Day_, however. Perhaps the innoculation has worn off.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbingly Honest
Review: I had never heard of David Sedaris until a couple months back when a friend handed me her copy of this book and urged, "You have to read this!" Not being one for intense reading experiences, I was skeptical that I'd even make it beyond the first chapter. But because I favor sarcasm and cynicism above all else, this book appealed to me. The author's ability to paint such vivid portraits of everyone, from the merest acquaintance to the closest family member, is what pulled me in. Although this book is a collection of short essays, it does tell a story of a man riding the wave on which his neurotic tendencies take him. Sedaris displays a remarkable ability to view himself and the people around him in a harsh but honest light. If only more of us could be as observant of the world in which we live. Cynical as the author professes to be, I couldn't help but read a significant amount of hope in between the lines. The chapter in which he discusses his mother's inoperable cancer (as well as his entire family's reaction to it) is told against the backdrop of his sister's wedding. Perhaps I'm overanalyzing here, but I find it difficult to believe that someone who is completely cynical would use such a celebratory occasion as the backdrop to this story. I can't help but wonder what it must be like to live with a David Sedaris in your life. Were it me, would I be self conscious of every thing I said and every move I made for fear that it would wind up the subject of yet another essay on human fallibility?
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars Not Enough!
Review: This is by far one of the funniest books I've ever read! I'm always on the lookout for books to cheer me up, hardly finding them, but this one is absolute classic. Virtually every essay in this collection cracked me up -- and not just once, but repeatedly! Truly THIS is a funny book. A laugh-fest! If you love to laugh -- or need to laugh -- as we all do -- don't miss it! Also recommended: THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez, WILL@epicqwest.com by Tom Grimes
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: Me Talk Pretty One Day is much better than this book. I finished the latter in two days because it was fast paced and interesting. Although I finished Me Talk Pretty One Day quickly, afterward I thought to myself, "That was alright, but I don't care." Seddaris writes about himself and it's mildly amusing, but, in the end, it's nothing special. This book, however, is just boring. I started reading it and thought, "Oh man, this is going to be mediocre at best but I'll finish quickly so I won't mind," and then I started thinking, "Oh man, this is terrible. I have to run away and hide from all of the terrible book I have to read." I started to avoid reading it because it's so boring. The stories went on for too long and the topics were poorly chosen. If someone started telling me a story about the time they went on a bus trip and their bus neighbors were annoying, I'd say, "Hey, stop talking because this is a bad story. If you write a book, you definitely shouldn't put this bus story in there." He even managed to ruin the premise of nudist colony.
With books, I work on a yes or no basis. And this is a no, twice.
Rating:
Summary: Great job Dave!
Review: I love Dave Sedaris! His stories are great for people with short attention spans (like myself) who cannot sit through a whole book. There is a chapter on his childhood OCD which almost made me pee on myself. This book is great!
Rating:
Summary: Sedaris has talent
Review: absolutely hillarious. sedaris is the funniest and best storyteller i have ever read.
| 
