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Summary: SantaLand Diaries
Review: Sedaris shines when his essays focus on real characters and events. His pieces on family life and French expatriate living in Me Talk Pretty One Day stand out as examples. Holidays on Ice features fewer such gems. Most of the stories here are fictional, and in my opinion do not work nearly as well. The standout exception, however, is the hilarious SantaLand Diaries, one of the funniest things I've ever read and which in itself is well worth the price of the book. This is the real-life story of Sedaris' stint as a Macy's SantaLand elf. Sedaris focuses on our collective stupidity, but as always he mixes in just the right amount of self-depreciation to make the piece come off perfectly. I believe that it was Tom Clancey that said that the difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense. The figures in SantaLand Diaries (elves, Santas, and the Great American Public) behave just irrationally enough that the story has to be true. Ironically, aside from being hilariously funny Sedaris uses all of this illogical behavior to give us an interesting look at human nature. This is a two star book that is saved by a five star story. Buy it and read the last thirty pages.
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Summary: Read right before Christmas for great laugh!
Review: This book was a really fantastic collection of 6 short stories regarding the holiday season. I had heard so much about David Sedaris and what a talented satirical writer he was, and I was much impressed by his ability to parody the American publics love/hate relationship during the holiday season. His life as an elf in the Macys's shopping store in New York had me laughing out loud. And the upbeat Christmas letter that includes the introduction of a Vietamese stepchild was hilarious. I finished the book in two days of light reading and realized the author is truly dark and twisted but extremely talented. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is next on my list. I guarantee you'll like this book, but just to add to the fervor of the writing, I suggest you read it a week before Christmas during your most hellish and frantic points of your life; it'll add to the hilarity of your situation.
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Summary: Home for the Holidays, Boy AM I GLAD I LIVE AWAY FROM HOME
Review: Holidays are trying at best, you try to get the shopping done, you try not to gain 10 pounds and you try not to kill your relatives. David Sedaris has captured the true spririt of the holidays in his collection of short stories "HOLIDAYS ON ICE". And no way is Tiny Tim gonna make us feel all warm and sappy. With a sharp tongue and even shaper typewriter, Sedaris tells the tales of being an Elf at Macy's. Another about how his sister brings home a co-worker who is on a work-release program from prison and the most absurb tale on giving until it hurts, literally. If you have just been turned on to Sedaris you might be a little dissapointed in this book, but there are a few laughs but all tales are so well written you will be compelled to finish this book in one evening. For those of you new to Sedaris, you will get a quick look into the sense of humor of one of America's up and coming humorists.
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Summary: Christmas Jeer
Review: You may recognize someone you know in at least one of the six, occasionally dark, often amusing short stories in David Sedaris' Holidays On Ice. Stories which have been brought together like wandering members of the same family at Christmastime. There is the first person account of one of Macys elf-hirelings. There is the newsletter writer; a woman who puts a thinly veiled cheery holiday spin on her family's life of tragedy, horror, and despair. There is Dinah, who happens to be a whore. There is the children's' holiday pageant reviewer who brings us front and center with all of the effrontery and mercilessness of a Broadway reviewer. A Hollywood television producer delivers the sermon for a Christmas Eve service at a very rural church. Finally, there are the competitive neighbors who sacrifice more and more every season in the true holiday spirit of one-ups-man-ship. You know some of these people. They scare you, they should. They also amuse you. They may even be you. The identity connections and the feeling that these tales aren't as made-up as they seem are what makes these stories so funny, and at the same time so frighteningly real.
Rating: 
Summary: Think the holidays are hard on you??? Check this out:
Review: David's humor is never-ending. He has the knack for finding humor in the most degrading situations. These stories are hilarious and show that the world is all in how you look at it. Being short is one thing, but being an elf is someting else all together!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: More than a twist on normal holiday reading - it's TWISTED
Review: A friend recommended this book to me, said it was a pleasant departure from standard sweet holiday writing. It was a departure, for sure - but NOT AT ALL pleasant. I actually enjoyed Sedaris' writing style, even the sarcasm, but much of the content was disturbing at best. I gave up after a section that ended in a particularly horrific death. Only one nice thing I can say for it - it made me appreciate the high-calorie sweet holiday stories once again.
Rating: 
Summary: Really disappointing
Review: This was my first exposure to David Sedaris, and I hope it'll be my last. For starters, there's his voice--a grating, oddly inflected whine that frequently made me want to eject the tape. As for the material, some of it is amusing, but many of the stories cross the line between sharp satire and sick, unfunny (and often boring!) discourse. Maybe there are better works by this author, but this one is really terrible.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I put this book on my wish list after reading various David Sedaris reviews. I am currently reading another book by him that I am enjoying, but this collection of stories was a bit disturbing for me.
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Summary: Great Holiday Stories
Review: These Christmas stories really are very unique, and uplifting. They are a great partner to travel with by plane or train to the family's house for turkey and plumb pudding. Out of all the stories, the one which gave me the most laughs was the final story "Christmas Means Giving" which shows just how far competition between neighbors 'could' go. Each story is very well written, and they are so different from one an other. I certainly want to read more of David Sedaris's short stores, and I hope also he goes the distance and tries to write a full length novel.
Rating:
Summary: The first story is worth the price of the book ...
Review: ... but the rest of the stories disappoint. The first story, Santaland Diaries, is a classic. I have rarely, if ever, laughed so hard at a short story. It is a true, though possibly embellished, story of the author and his experiences as a professional elf in a mall during the holiday season. As I said, this story alone is worth the cost of the book. Sadly, the rest of the stories don't even come close to measuring up. They are all cynical holiday season fare but very uninspired. My high hopes after reading Santaland Diaries were dashed.
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