Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays

Rating:
Summary: A Gem of A Book: Don't Miss It!
Review: According to a blurb on the back jacket of my paperback copy of BARREL FEVER David Sedaris writes with "a satirical brazenness that holds up next to Twain and Nathaniel West". That comparison is accurate.

Sedaris you see is afraid of offending no one. He writes with absolutely no regard for political correctness and doesn't care who he offends or which sacred cow gets slaughtered. In essence, reading some of his writing will trigger two responses. The first is to laugh hysterically at the black humor. The second is to squirm uncomfortably as uncomfortable truths are hit home.

Sedaris gained a following as a writer and commentator for National Public Radio (NPR) as well as for his play "SantaLand Diaries". The original essay upon which the play is based is among the 12 stories and 4 essays Sedaris includes in Barrel Fever. In the essay, Sedaris is talking about a job he held in New York as an Elf at Macy's during the holiday shopping season. And it is absolutely hilarious. I mean, painfully funny!

Another gem is "The Last You'll Hear From Me" which is written as a suicide note from an angst-ridden teenager. Just as great is "Season's Greetings" with its bleak yet hilarious look at a dysfunctional family weighed under during the Holidays. "Jamboree" tells the story of a neglected young adult who moves in with his older sister and her a**hole boyfriend and winds up taking care of their baby.

That's a good sampling from the stories part. The essays all focus in one way or another on the day jobs Sedaris held while trying to make it as a writer. Aside that is from "Diary Of A Smoker" which looks at the New York hostility towards smokers. Certain people may be put off by Sedaris' admission in this essay that he smokes pot but "not crack".

Also noteworthy among the essays is "Giantess" in which Sedaris talks about working household maintenance jobs while at the same time submitting a story to a contest offered by the titular magazine of erotica. Then we have "The Curly Kind" in which he offers observations from his days as a janitor at the apartment complex where many writers for Sesame Street live.

Barrel Fever is a short hilarious collection of fiction and non-fiction from one of the leading darkly comic writers on the scene today. Sedaris has his finger on the pulse of the human comedy and we the readers are the better for it. Pick up a copy of BARREL FEVER by David Sedaris. You won't regret it! Also recommended is THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez.

Rating:
Summary: Comic Masterpiece
Review: Anyone who can actually sit down and read this book without laughing to the point of having tears streaming down their face and a sore stomach should really learn to lighten up and get off the prozac, because it ain't working. The opening story about his love affair with Charlton Heston, Mike Tyson, and going on Oprah is one of the funniest pieces of comedy I have ever come across. The letter read at the funeral and the disfunctional family newsletter at Christmas are two other gems from an overall jewelry case. Like the richest of desserts, the book concludes with the laugh out loud Santaland Diaries. I'm telling you--it's a perfect introduction to an amazing comedic genius. Don't pass up "Naked," "Me Talk Pretty One Day," or "Dress Your Family..." either!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Barrel Fever is a terrific book, especially if you enjoy David Sedaris' twisted humor. His fiction is so crazy, as I was reading it I thought, "is this really true? This has to be true." But after finishing my favorite story, "Season Greetings," I knew it had to be fiction. The ending of that story surprised me beyond belief. "The Last you'll hear from me" is another great fiction story. I enjoy David Sedaris' non-fiction, but I wished he would write more fiction because I love it so. I highly recommend all of Sedaris' work.

Rating:
Summary: Average At Best...
Review: Barrell Fever starts off as an obvious first time-type effort from Sedaris, his other later works showing themselves to be glaringly superior. More superior in scope, ideas, ability and humor. Many of the stories within this book aren't what later Sedaris readers are used to. Lots of them are told from the points of view of imaginary people in far-fetched circumstances. Only a few of the writings are presented as life experiences from Sedaris himself and I didn't know that when I bought the book. I'm more of a memoir reader and that's what I was expecting. Many of the stories are pretty trite and simple, often annoyingly so.

One of the better made-up stories is a great piece called, "Seasons Greetings" about a family that is shaken up when a long-lost Korean daughter of the army veteran father shows up on the family doorstep. It has its moments of racism, but I found it really funny.

However, by far, the story "Santaland Diaries," Sedaris' real-life exploits as Macys elf during Christmas-time, is priceless! It could be the funniest thing he's ever written. If you feel like checking out the writer's beginnings, this book is a good start.

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: Save this one for last.
Review: David Sedaris' work as a writer is top notch. This book, however is not up there with the rest. The essays at the end of the book are the typical Sedaris gems (The "SantaLand Diaries" are almost worth the price alone), but I think the short stories are for a rather limited readership. In the same way that I am not all pumped up about "Def Comedy Jam" or The Latin Grammy's, the short stories did not strike me as entertaining. The writing is superb, but with the very gay-specific subject matter it is best to save this book for last in your quest to conquer David Sedaris.

Rating:
Summary: A Gem of A Book: Don't Miss It!
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: Bitter after taste
Review: I haven't read all of David Sedaris' books in chronological order and therefore have only just finished this book. Whilst I think all of his books are definitley worth reading this one left a slightly bad taste in my mouth as some of the stories are off colour.

I now only have to read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim but am going to wait a while as I feel I need a bit of a break from him as I have read his other books back to back.

I still recommend this book but so far it has been the most disappointing.

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: 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.