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Summary: Sedaris with the Holiday theme, laugh and laugh!!
Review: Since I have reviewed many of Sedaris' books, it will surprise no one to know that I love his writing. He can make me weep with laughter. Holidays is no exception... the piece about applying for a job as a Santa's elf at Macy's in NYC is the one that NPR listeners will recognize and it is no less hilarious in print. It's the fact that you know this is probably EXACTLY what it is like as a Macy's Xmas elf - together with the emperor-has-no-clothes-on kind of truth that can make the whole essay a keeper. The other essays in this small collection of Sedaris gems involve other holidays themes. "Dinah, the Christmas Whore", changes how a young David views not only his sister Lisa but his family and what the bigger world is all about. "Season's Greetings," is a screamingly funny suburban family xeroxed Christmas letter - let's face it, we've all received them, and although we love hearing what's happening in the lives of our friends, sometimes the gloss-over is a bit stretched - in Sedaris' version the life of the family starts out as plastic and suburban as usual and quickly degenerates in a wild tale of illegitimate children, lawsuits, implied incest and a bizarre and very funny host of other issues. Take a breather, find a corner, read this through while the tree is still up and laugh and laugh and laugh.
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Summary: I will not exaggerate, this is the best book
Review: At least for Christmas, I got this last year and Could not stop laughing....if only Mr Sedaris had meant these essays to be funny! Dinah The Christmas Whore in particular! Buy this if you get depressed at the holidays or even if you don't, the Macy's elf one is a hoot and the X-mas letter....you gotta read this book!
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Summary: Subtle sarcasm at its finest...
Review: David Sedaris' "Holidays On Ice" has become the gift of choice for several of my friends this year. His smartass writings are full of vivid imagery, and his characters have a real feel to them. I love to flip through a book while in a bookstore, and have it make me laugh within the first few seconds. This book easily accomplished that. Never cruel, his matter-of-fact statements easily dulled the shine of plastic Christmas', but I still appreciated the wit and wisdom he offered in this work. Although I was unfamiliar with his work until this book, I have already ordered his other two books, and look forward to reading them on a cold night in front of a warm fire.
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Summary: This Tape Almost Caused Auto Accidents
Review: I give this book/tape the highest recommendation, but I definitely don't recommend listening to it while driving in traffic, because it will cause the listener to laugh too loud, too hard and too often. Sedaris' reading is a little saccharine at times, which is a little surprising for someone who writes with such supernatural dry ironic wit. Apparently, perfection on both counts is too much to ask. On the other hand, the level of dry, ironic wit in his writing is so far above the mean that it would be unjust to expect more from a reader. Actually, describing Sedaris' wit as dry is pretty much akin to comparing sulfuric acid to Bourdeaux wine. Ann Magnuson gives a reading performance every bit as good as the author's black humor writing. [Amy Sedaris' work is also wonderful, but any Strangers With Candy fan will expect that as a matter of course.] With the holiday season all but upon us, Holidays on Ice is a perfect antidote for the obligatory flood of Christmas culture. I simply can't recommend these tapes too strongly and I imagine that the written text is every bit as good. Just exercise extreme care if you drive while they are playing.
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Summary: uneven, ranging from hiliarious to tiresome
Review: Sedaris is indeed at his best with non-fiction. "Santaland Diaries" is terrific, and "Dinah the Christmas Whore" is very good. The fiction pieces, however, are all weak, repetitive, and overlong; "Seasons' Greetings" in particular is painful to listen to, and mean-spirited in a way that none of the other pieces are.
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Summary: Have a Scathing Holiday with David
Review: This is over the top and under the edge and into your face type humor. I didn't sense a single misstep: David Sedaris is a writer's writer. As a humorist, you, the reader, must decide if his style appeals to you. I know some people who would be horrified by this book. But I liked it.I did not, however, LOVE it. I respect good writing to the utmost. You get that here. I respect an author who has control over his stories in every aspect. You get that, too. I love humor more than anything, but...but...but I couldn't get around the fact that there was NOTHING nice in this book. I mean, zero. I honestly feel that as humans we have SOME redeeming qualities,and I know he was kidding, but it was kind of creepy. David Sedaris is really, really good at what he does. In fact, there is no one out there who can top him at this. So go ahead and get this book if you like, but don't expect me to say "I laughed out loud through the whole thing" or "I laughed so hard the tears were falling down my face" because, for me, that wasn't the case. Four stars for top quality writing from a top quality writer. One star missing for humanity. best, jean
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Summary: Don't read this while driving
Review: I was first introduced to David Sedaris through NPR's weekly show, "This American Life," and there's been more than one occasion while listening to his pieces when I've had to pull my car over because the tears in my eyes were obscuring my view. He's just that funny. He's also sick and twisted, but that's great if you like that kind of thing. His stories are almost best heard, so if you can find the book-on-tape it's worth adding to your collection. The problem is those tapes often leave out one or two of the stories from the written version, so I end up with both, anyway. Start a new holiday tradition with your family and bring this one to dinner! It'll be a year you'll never forget.
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Summary: The perfect introduction to a spectacular writer
Review: The holidays bring out something truly special in David Sedaris, making this more a "best of" than a mere holiday book. It's simply brilliant and, as many reviewers have experienced, one of those rare books that may cause you to laugh out loud in spite of yourself. Its only flaw is that it's a short book, but in content it's a giant. Avid NPR listeners will instantly recognize the first essay in this book, "Santaland Diaries"; the author's reading of that story is their single most requested encore. His description of becoming a Christmas Elf at Macy's is a true guilty pleasure; scathingly unkind and screamingly funny. If you ever held an undignified job, this is somehow your story - even if you never (pardon the pun) stooped so low as to play an elf. Sedaris writes like a post-modern Mark Twain, with a dry and piercing wit that drips with charm and cynicism in equal measure. His is the kind of writing that makes me go back to re-read a sentence, a paragraph, even a whole story hoping to savor some particular gem I only wish I'd written. His tone is often dark, even bleak, but there's a wry quality in his stories that lets you know he's really doing it all for effect - setting you up for an even bigger laugh because you know he's enjoying every minute of telling his sad, hilarious stories. Get in on his story now so you can savor the feeling of waiting impatiently for his next book - and there's no better way to start than to read Holidays on Ice.
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Summary: Christmas Seen Differently
Review: The first book I've read by this author, and I'm hooked. I couldn't stop laughing while reading "SantaLand Diaries", which is worth the money alone. However, not all of the book is that funny. Sedaris as a very strange kind of humor, with an incredibly sharp edge to it. He twists the 'giving spirit of Christmas' perversly, as well as 'being together as a family'. If you want a different kind of Christmas story, this is what you want to buy.
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Summary: Excellent twist to the usual holiday fare.
Review: David Sedaris has a sick sense of humor, and he conveys it well in this book of Christmas shorts. It opens with the extremely funny "Santaland Diaries", giving an insider's view of elves at Macy's. Next comes "Season's Greetings", an overenthusiastic 'family newsletter' that spins off into satirical tangents with the unexpected addition of a Vietnamese daughter. "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" tells of young David's encounter with his father's "Christmas present" ::wink:: "Front Row with Thaddeus Bristol" is a theatrical review of the Christmas pageants in the elementary schools (we've all had to suffer). "Based on a True Story" is a somewhat sickeningly funny look at a hustler trying to gather holiday special ideas. Finally, "Christmas Means Giving" rounds out the collection, telling of two families who can't stop competing with each other. I'm a newcomer to Sedaris's wit, and the next book on my list is 'Naked'. This was a great way to be introduced without being overwhelmed--even if they are Christmas stories being read in July.
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