Rating: 
Summary: Tears of a Clown or some other witty title
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Sedaris' "Me Talk Pretty One Day," and I needed a book to help me kill some time while waiting on a friend to take his lunch break, so I bought "Naked."It's the same idea as "Me Talk Pretty"--a bunch of loosely connected or unconnected humorous essays--but for whatever reason (and I won't pretend it's not due to some mental block of my own), I found this book disturbingly sad. I'm not just talking about the "Ashes" segment, which is obviously supposed to break your heart as it makes you laugh. But Sedaris--and, indeed, his entire family--is so incredibly self-absorbed throughout this book, so pleased with himself, that it hurts me. Now, granted, the "grown-up" Sedaris who is writing the book realizes the depth of his former self-absorption, and so maybe the sadness I'm feeling is just the sadness of growing up and putting childish things aside. The book is very engrossing, though, sad as it is. "I couldn't put it down" or whatever other cliche you want me to use. 3.5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Good thing the guy has a sense of humor
Review: I guess I'm the odd man out where this book is concerned. I laughed exactly one time from the beginning of the book to the end. For the most part I found the humor a veneer--the deeper story is sad, dysfunctional, un-self-regarding, and more than a little sordid. Mind you, I have nothing at all against a gay perspective--that's not it. But the situations the narrator puts himself in, his unaffectionate, foulmouthed family, the pitiful, forgotten characters he encounters, his superficial, smarmy reading of others, and (hence) his lonliness...this book struck me as more like a milder version of Dave Pelzer's "A Child Called It" with jokes and much better writing. All I can say is that it's a good thing that the author has a sense of humor, because if he didn't, God knows how screwed up he could have been. I'm not panning it--it's very well written and intermittently entertaining, and not a difficult read. I just didn't find it very funny. But then, I didn't much care for the Harry Potter books, either.
Rating: 
Summary: Can I have six stars, please?
Review: Too often the terms "page turner" and "Laugh out loud" are applied to books that don't deserve it. Not so in the case of this book or any book written by David Sedaris for that matter. There are three author I could not live without: Sedaris, McCrae, and Vonnegut. Sedaris' NAKED is by far the funniest book of these authors, with his BARREL FEVER and ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY coming in right behind. If you also like Sedaris' humor, try reading Vonnegut's GOLD BLESS YOU MR. ROSE WATER or Jackson McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. Both Vonnegut and McCrae are extremely funny at times, but also can be very dark--a nice contrast sometimes to the humor.
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest books I have ever read
Review: I loved this book from the first page to the last. I read it every second I could and found myself reading parts out loud to my husband. David Sedaris is an incredible storyteller and even makes sad things funny. I can't wait to read his other books.
Rating:
Summary: well-written and funny
Review: Summary:
The book is a collection of short stories, most of which I believe are based on the author's actual experiences. Most of the stories are about his family and growing up, but the final story, Naked, is about his experience going to a nudist colony/resort. My Comments:
All of the stories are well-written, engaging, and entertaining. As is the case with 'Holidays On Ice', the author never reveals when a story is fictitious or not, but I was inclined to believe most of these were non-fiction (though there might be an embellishment here or there). I was impressed by the author's candor about his personal life. To be willing to reveal one's quirks and even poke fun at them takes either a lot of money or a lot of self-security. I'm not sure which is Sedaris's motivation, but whatever it is, it's nice to hear someone being frank about life. Though the stories jump all over the place and don't really seem to have a common thread, I don't think anyone can argue that Sedaris has a gift for telling poignant and humorous short stories. The stories are a bit outlandish and the author is blunt, meaning they probably aren't for everyone, but I would definitely recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious -- You Can't Go Wrong With This Purchase!
Review: This collection of autobiographical essays ranges the gamut of diverse topics from a nudist colony (the essay which gives the collection its title) to a chain-smoking mother dying of cancer, to the prostitute who David's sister rescues one Christmas Eve. ("I felt superior to all the other families on the block, because suddenly the phrase 'Ho, ho, ho!' had an entirely new meaning to me.") Sedaris makes his prose sparkle with wit and cynicism. In the stories of his semi-dysfunctional family life, you will catch elements of your own (probably tame and normal) life. While being darkly funny and cynical, Sedaris balances humor with a touching tenderness about his mother's fatal bout with cancer. But lest he become too much of a softie, such zany essays such as "A Plague of Tics," about his collection of nervous habits growing up. ("Don't you lick that light switch one more time, young man!") Sedaris's unique blend of dark humor, cynicism and wonderful tenderness and reflection are reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut. Sedaris bares his soul for the world to see Naked, showing us the contradiction of humanity. He is a satirist with a heart, a chain-smoking, zany, wonderful author who will leave you at the end of an essay in tears of laughter, choked up on a wonderful, sadly funny concept. Aside from this great book, I would like to recommend 2 other recent fun "Amazon.com picks": WILL@epicqwest.com (a medicated memoir) by Tom Grimes, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: Hands down, the funniest book I have ever read.
Review: I read this book a while back and I just could not stop telling everyone about it. Even recently, i remember recommending it to someone who would fit that sort of personality. Naked makes you think about the funny little quirks in your life that just aren't funny to you but somewhat habitual. I can't wait to pick up 'me talk pretty'. cheers
Rating:
Summary: Off the deep end
Review: David Sedaris is a complete freak. (Not that that's a bad thing.) The stories he tells in "Naked" are so outlandish that you'll wonder how a guy can make this stuff up. Of course, it's only partially made up. Sedaris's essays are autobiographical and the characters he describes are surely based on real people. It's all pretty funny. And if a story or two falls flat, don't worry -- the next one will probably be a winner. I enjoyed reading the book, and zipped through it in no time. My only quibbles are that the salty language is sometimes overdone (e.g., see pp. 154-5) and that the humor can get a little old. Too much Sedaris is exhausting. But "Naked" in small doses is ideal.
Rating:
Summary: Naked: A Book Review
Review: When I first set out on this project to review an established writer's work, it was difficult deciding which author's work I was going to dissect. After skimming through several novels' introductions, I chose to review Naked written by the overly dramatic and hilarious David Sedaris. Since I had already read some of David's literature, I knew that I would enjoy this eclectic autobiography. The first thing that attracted me to this book was the name itself; Naked. Was David an established nudist whose life, he thought, in itself a good story? Was he revealing how society was impacted by the human body? In this review, I am going to try to decipher why David titled this book Naked. After reading through the collection of essays, I'm first going to break down what Naked initially meant to me.
Naked is a collection of essays that describe memorable bits and pieces of the author, David's, life. Although some readers may not enjoy his attention to detail, I found that it was his detail that allowed us, the reader a glimpse into whom David Sedaris was and is. He revealed his inner thoughts in various situations. When he was a child, David had many nervous habits that he would have to carry out to make himself feel comfortable. In the 2nd chapter, A Plague of Tics, David, in great detail, goes through a day in his life including the walk home from school where he finds it necessary, not only to count his foot steps, but to lick, jump over, kick and read various objects on his way home. The way in which he describes these events it is as though there is absolutely nothing wrong with his behavior and that it is completely normal.
His abnormal, deranged family is brought into the novel in the first chapter but we don't really get to know them until the end of the collection of essays. With each "episode" or essay that I read, I got to know David better. While reading through the novel I was waiting for a deciding moment in which the title would clearly have relevance to the sum of the essays. In the final chapter, David decides to go on vacation to a nudist camp. I had thought for sure since this essay was titled Naked that it would have tied all the essays together to make sense of the books title. On a planned vacation from New York City, David rents the front room from a trailer, yes a trailer, and travels by bus, since he can't drive, to a nudist camp. From the moment he arrives, he is unsure of his willingness to be there. Although this chapter was significant, there were many other chapters that I believed held more significance to the collection.
So why was the book titled Naked? Throughout the beginning of the collection of essays, I was very curious of his sexual orientation. As a child, through his descriptions of daily activities, I knew that he was different. He hinted that he was homosexual but it wasn't until the end of the essays that he openly stated that he was attracted to men. As well as David having a gut-wrenching satirical humor, he also possesses a realistic view of the world that he doesn't hold back. Through dialogue with dozens of insignificant figures in the book, I got a real sense of how David viewed the world. It wasn't necessarily the words that he spoke, but it was the thoughts that he had when he spoke to these characters. Allowing the reader in on very memorable thoughts meant revealing himself. I came to the conclusion that this was why the book was titled Naked. It wasn't the fact that David was, for a short week, a nudist. It also wasn't titled Naked because of his views of how the world viewed the human body. It was because of David's revelations. Throughout all his adventures, he had allowed the reader to know his deepest thoughts. When his mother died, when he discovered God, when he traveled across the country and when he realized he was different, he had revealed his true self in his literature. This collection of essays was a release of all his inner thoughts and dialogue. After revealing so much, David truly, must have felt Naked.
Rating:
Summary: Never buy a brown towel again!!
Review: I read this on a plane and laughed so hard I started to cry. I tried stopping the laughter in tears and it was just not possible. The passenger next to me was getting concerned she was stuck next to a loon! I finally asked her to read a page about the brown towel incident. She not only laughed with me, but kept wanting me to tell her what happened next. I am buying multiple copies to give as gifts this Christmas coupled with Holidays on Ice. You just can't go wrong with this book.
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