Rating: 
Summary: Sedaris is the God of the modern-day personal essay!
Review: It's been a while since I've read this book, but since I've read it, no other book I've read has even come close in comparison. Sedaris is naturally funny and does not have to work at drawing laughs from his readers. I read this while riding the commuter rail and subway and found myself shrieking in laughter! Do yourself a favor, and go right out to purchase this and his other books... I just purchased his others and plan to purchase "Naked" on cassette tape because others have told me that they've run their cars off the road while listening to this when they were driving!
Rating: 
Summary: So Bad I Threw it Away
Review: I just plain didn't like this book. I thought that both the humor and the writing style were very weak. I read the first two chapters, skimmed through the rest, then pitched it in the trashcan. If there was a rating lower than one star I would have selected it.
Rating:
Summary: Painfully Funny
Review: I read this book on a flight from LA to the East Coast. The woman seated next to me asked to be reassigned another seat. Several others wrote down the title of the book that made me laugh until I was close to using the airsickness bag.
Rating: 
Summary: (No summary -- read below)
Review: I'll admit that I tucked into Mr. Sedaris' work with no small amount of anticipation. I assume many of his readers -- like myself -- first made his acquaintance by hearing him on public radio's 'This American Life.' Since he is an uncommonly witty storyteller, so it should follow he would be a fine writer, yes? Or perhaps not. Judging from 'Naked' -- his latest and highest praised work -- I have to withhold praise, or at least judgment. Unlike so many other books of poignant, self-revealing essays, 'Naked' did not have me laughing out loud (much); rather, I was often wincing, and waiting for conflicts and resolutions that seemed deliberately withheld. The author is a fine storyteller; this talent shines on radio and occasionally in these pieces. But he is an uneven writer at best. For my money his main faults are a celebration of victimhood (self-admitted, from his recent interviews) and a near complete lack of empathy for most of his subjects. Since every story here is written in first person and Sedaris freely admits they're largely based on fact, we get a very clear look at his life, his family, his feelings toward the world, and what experiences have shaped his worldview. It's not a pretty sight. In almost every account, Sedaris is being attacked, abused, set up, abandoned, or generally treated as an outcast. He almost seems to revel in this negativity, even seeks it out by telling stories of returning to effective slave labor at a nightmarish apple farm, helping a deranged Christian sell jade clocks in the shape of the state of Oregon, or visiting a nudist colony. He is rightly praised for being unsentimental; trouble is, drained of sentiment -- most of this material would make great horror stories -- we're left with little but an unappealing man being battered by the world. By his subject matter, Sedaris plainly has a sense for what **should** be funny; the setups are great. But the stories are lifeless. In each he fumbles through, telling us in lurid detail all the abuse he suffers. Of course, pratfalls and even tragedy can be wildly comic (wits from any age betray this -- John Irving and Steven Bochco are two recent purveyors), but they need more than a simple retelling. Alas, that's all we get from this storyteller. Voyeurism that might sustain the stories, just so, except there's very little to cheer for in his characters. When not showing how the world is brutalizing him, Sedaris paints a pretty bleak picture of the rest of humanity. I can recall one or two minor characters through these seventeen stories that come across neutral; the rest are thieves, psychotics, and rapists. His family is lovingly portrayed: a disinterested, mommas-boy father, a razor-tongued alcoholic mother and five hazily drawn siblings (excepting his sister Lisa) who seem in perennial competition with their brother. If tragedy and pain without empathy, poignancy, or even much comic edge are your cup of meat, I heartily recommend 'Naked.' The popular press recommends it highly, judging from their thunderous accolades; many compare Sedaris to Thurber, Parker, and even Twain. Given his self-deprecating nature, I'm sure Mr. Sedaris would be horrified at these comparisons. I know I am.
Rating:
Summary: Book of the Year!
Review: Loved, Loved Loved this book...I am like a missionary with it, I've purchased 4 copies so far and am handing them out sharing the 'good word'. What was wonderful about it was that everyone on earth has experienced these insecurities, family members with a resume of antics, and the other various coming of age experiences Sedaris shares with us. I am just not sure we'd confess them in such a "naked" way that Sedaris does. We laugh and cry and spit out our food (don't eat while reading this book!) as he shares it with us. I am looking for him on NPR all the time now. Thanks David Sedaris.
Rating:
Summary: 'Naked' starts out strong, but fizzles.
Review: Let me be clear; I enjoy David Sedaris and I liked his book. However, "Naked" could and should be about 90 pages shorter than it is. I, like many others, found myself laughing out loud at the beginning of the book. I drove my wife insane with the number of times I said, "Ok, you have to hear this." But, like a comedian struggling on stage, Sedaris decided to push rather than leave well enough alone. Brilliant pieces like "A Plague of Tics" and "Next of Kin" are followed by weaker stories with forced punchlines. The crisp description and dialogue found early in the book give way to lead balloons like this one from "I Like Guys": "...but I hoped that the warm Mediterranean waters might melt the icicle she seemed to have mistaken for a rectal thermometer." "Naked" is certainly entertaining. In fact, Sedaris is likely to become a staple on high school speech circuits around the country. Beyond that, he'll need to become more consistent (a la Garrsion Keillor's "Lake Wobegon Days" or Woody Allen's "Without Feathers") to separate himself from the huge pack of so-so humorists to the leagues of those whose names define humor.
Rating:
Summary: A jump-on-a-hotel-mattess-yippeeeeee-experience!
Review: Don't ask, don't tell should be the subtitle. Don't ask what it's about (everything? nothing?) and don't tell him, Sedaris, that he's a genius because I have the sneaking suspicion that his wit comes from a place rooted in childhood insecurity. The more confused, lost, and misunderstood he is, the funnier the essay. This is the best collection of essays I have ever read. Period. Laugh out loud, kick my partner at 3:00AM to read aloud a passage, call all my friends funny.
Rating:
Summary: Dave Sedaris = God
Review: I can't express enough just how much I loved this book. Hilarious yet touching. Buy it now and make Sedaris a rich man.
Rating: 
Summary: Average
Review: I read this book after a friend finished it and he was laughing at loud the whole time. I laughed out loud a few times in the beginning, but afterward to wasn't nearly as funny. In fact, I found some of the stories a bit sad and tragic even. Written as sort of a memoir of the author, the author relates various incidences in his life. The stories don't really follow a clear time frame and jump between different time periods in the author's life, although generally from childhood to present. You don't learn much about the what makes the author tick, other than the fact that he seems to want the recognition from the world that he feels he fails to receive. As far a Gay Studies, other than the fact that the author is gay, very little is related and being gay seems to play a minor role in most of his vignettes. You do learn quite a bit about some of the seemingly psychotic characters he meets, but after a while, these people all begin to seem alike. Overall, an enjoyable and quick read, but nothing truly fantastic.
Rating: 
Summary: tra-la tra-lee.....
Review: i just now finished the last chapter of Naked. and i simply had to spout to the world my new love of David Sedaris. this was the only book that had me laughing out loud whenever i picked it up. on the subway, at work, alone at my house....i couldnt stop laughing. i identified so much with mr. sedaris' image of his own family. and i saw myself in him so often. and it made me laugh at myself and see the humor in otherwise horrid situations. the story "ashes" in which mr. sedaris talks about his mothers teminal illness almost brought me to tears and as soon as i launched into the next story i was laughing out loud alone in public again. read this book. perfect for any cynic.
|
