Rating: 
Summary: Uneven but Good
Review: Within a few pages of this David Sedaris book, I was seething with rage. "This is about as funny as a car wreck," I said to myself. Although I hate to start a book and never finish reading it, I tossed this one aside in disgust, vowing never to return to its poisoned pages. Well, I did pick it up a few days later and I am glad that I did. The problem was the first few stories. The humor in the first three or four stories is juvenile and just plain dumb. It is the style of humor one finds in our middle schools. Once you get past those clunkers, the following stories and essays crackle with humor and dark emotion.My favorite stories were his holiday stories, namely "Season's Greetings," and "The SantaLand Diaries (this story is why I originally wanted to buy the book)." I don't think I really need to go into the SantaLand story since it popular enough that most people have heard of it or read it. As someone who did the retail thing, I recognize many customers and personality types in this story. I am surprised more people haven't mentioned "Season's Greetings." This story is an absolute scream. It is written in the form of a Christmas card-type letter written by Jocelyn Dunbar. Poor, poor Jocelyn. Her family is sorry to announce the arrival of Khe Sahn (!), a Vietnamese strumpet who turns up on the Dunbar doorstep. Khe Sahn is the illegitimate daughter of Clifford, Jocelyn's husband, conceived during his tenure in Vietnam. I don't want to ruin the whole story for you, but I will say the way that the story is written adds greatly to the humor. The breezy, forced joviality of the letter just killed me. Other stories in this collection are just as entertaining, although much darker and thoughtful. "After Malison" tells the story of an arrogant literary jerk and an encounter with her favorite post-modern writer. "Don's Story" reveals the vacuous nature of Hollywood. "Jamboree" is a depressing story about an unwanted child and his jerk parents. All of the stories will arouse some type of emotion in you, whether it is rage, happiness, or tears depends on the type of person you are. Sedaris does have insightful perception on various aspects of society and when he is writing at top form, he shines. My advice on reading this book: expect good stories, but expect to read awhile before you get to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly 3 1/2 stars
Review: This is my least favorite David Sedaris book, but it's still a must for Sedaris-holics such as myself. I think I prefer the all-essay format of "Naked" and "Me Talk Pretty One Day", but I have to admit that some of the fiction (this book is approx. 75% fiction, 25% essays) is very funny, in his very dark humor way,
such as "The Last You'll Hear From Me", and "Glen's Homophobic Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 3". The now-famous "Santaland Dairies" is probably worth the purchase of the book. It's also included in the "Holidays on Ice" collection. If you're a real fan, read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Okay,okay
Review: Okay, this is not my favorite Sedaris, but compared to everything else out there it's still one of the best buys for your money. My favorites are Naked and Me Talk Pretty, but everything the guy wrote is worth reading. His books should come with a warning that says, "Caution: may cause you to lose bladder control in public." They're side-splitting funny and well-crafted. God bless him. Sedaris, along with Jackson McCrae and Vonnegut are three of my favorite authors. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating:
Summary: Great collection
Review: I first saw David Sedaris on a late night talk show and thought the story he read was hilarious. It was an excerpt from "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and the next day I went to the library and got it. I read through it in a day, laughing out loud for the better part of the book. I bought "Barrel Fever" and began to read. I must say that I thought the book was extremely funny, but not as funny as "Me Talk...". Not because Sedaris did a bad job, but because I have a preference for essays while the majority of this book is short stories. That being said, it is still a great book. Its probably not for those that don't have a dark or twisted sense of humor. If your idea of hilarity is "Family Circus" then you probably won't enjoy the book. However, if you like witty and humorous stories about alcoholics and dysfunctional families, you will like this. I showed one of my favorite parts to a friend and she replied that I have "one sick sense of humor" but she was laughing right along with me. And so if that description could apply to you, I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Sedaris's best!
Review: I adored "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and thought "Naked" was quite good, too. But I was very disappointed in "Barrel Fever". In fact, I don't think I even bothered to finish it, because so many of the stories were just plain outrageously disgusting and weird and not funny at all. PLEASE don't judge Sedaris on this book alone -- try "Me Talk Pretty"! I laughed so hard while reading it that my husband sent me out of the room.
Rating:
Summary: Decent, but not for everyone.
Review: What is it about David Sedaris? Many call him a literary and comedic genius, but I think he's more readily a purveyor of snob hits and unread bestsellers. Maybe I've become too stuffy, but I just can't get into the craze, and make no mistake, it is a craze. Everyone from the book club to the coffee shop is talking about this writer, so I finally bought "Barrel Fever" the other day. Friends have been urging me to read his work since he became a hit, and yet I'm left with a sense of disappointment. Maybe he just didn't live up to all the hype, maybe it's just not my type of book, but I wouldn't recommend it. I thought I was in for a laugh; a good, hearty, observational humor laugh, but I was mistaken. Don't get me wrong, Sedaris isn't a bad author, and his stories can be interesting, but Barrel Fever lacks something which is hard to identify. I'm sure I'll be crucified by the literati for saying this, but his stories can be just plain stupid. They do a good job of revealing the inner conflicts of his characters, but many are unnecessarily grotesque and for me at least, that ruined a good portion of them. He likes to throw in references to gay sex and secret trysts where none were needed, though maybe I'm just missing a whole aspect of his work. I was looking for Seinfeld-style wacky, inane observations which ring true to everyday life. Instead, I got darker, more serious observations about what lies just beneath the surface in all of us. The stories overemphasize and embellish these quirks and misgivings, but they do all share the common thread of middle class, Midwestern, family values, and just trying to get on with life. For some, this alone might be enough to give the book impact and humor, but some readers like me will feel alienated from the ideas and characters he presents. Perhaps that is the point of the humor: in detaching ourselves from the characters we can see humor in their situations while looking through the window into a world we don't understand. Actually, I'm not really sure what the point was, but it wasn't for me, and I imagine many other non-literati types would agree.
Rating:
Summary: Not Sedaris's best!
Review: I adored "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and thought "Naked" was quite good, too. But I was very disappointed in "Barrel Fever". In fact, I don't think I even bothered to finish it, because so many of the stories were just plain outrageously disgusting and weird and not funny at all. PLEASE don't judge Sedaris on this book alone -- try "Me Talk Pretty"! I laughed so hard while reading it that my husband sent me out of the room.
Rating:
Summary: "...bring Santa a throat lozenge."
Review: David Sedaris' wildly funny, in your face collection of short stories and essays pulls no punches and delivers on all cylinders the dark humor and absolute brilliance of comic power. Sedaris tells his stories of hidden perversion, inner demons, family termoil and much more with empathy and wit. Stories ranging from a crazy affair with the baddest man on the planet, a suicide letter read at the funeral of manic backlash, and a bitter, sad Bad Santa. Sedaris' later work is much better but this one is a great introduction.
Rating:
Summary: Skip This and Re-Read Me Talk Pretty One Day
Review: What a tremendously disappointing read. If it weren't for the final story, Santaland Diaries, I would have only given this book one star, and only then because I couldn't give it less. I was not looking for a re-tread of "Me Talk Pretty One Day," but I was looking for something of comparable quality (which in "Pretty" was stellar), and this was NOT it. Meandering, pointless, humorless ramblings from someone who is capable of much better writing. Only in Santaland Diaries do we get to see the Sedaris that crackles with dark humor and hilarious cynicism. I loved every word of this story and couldn't help but wish that the rest of the book had been this wonderful. My heartfelt advice is that you borrow Barrel Fever from the library, memorize Santaland Diaries, and ignore the rest.
Rating:
Summary: A witty, keenly constructed read
Review: David Sedaris' skill as a humorist is very well developed, but may be a bit dark and twisted for some. Once I got through the first few stories, I really began to enjoy the characters. Sedaris seems to alternate between two narrative characters. One voice so unaware of others that their utter lack of social skill is hilarious. The other is comically dry and witty, and at the time is keenly observant of emotion. His personal essays are very funny. His irreverence for just about everything makes for a great read.
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