This was a short-story-licious vacation.
Sedaris has been writing for This American Life for a while now, and he's a real powerhouse when it comes to convincing people to be his adoring fans/loyal minions. Apparently he draws hundreds of people to his readings. My theory is he's planning a world takeover.
Luckily, he has a sense of humor. So dictatorial rule under Sedaris can't be worse than the current regimes.
This collection contains a number of vignettes from childhood and adulthood - funny and poignant.
I much enjoyed the ones about living in France and learning the language (or trying). They jibe with my own expat experience.
But, strangely, I can't think of much more to say.
They were funny. I enjoyed them. But....?
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What I love so much about Sedaris is that he's sneaky. I think I'm just having fun, laughing - and then the kicker. He can make me go from laughter to tears or just shocked realization that I am the dumbass he's laughing at in a millisecond. I think he is so much smarter than he is generally given credit to be.
For me, both Me Talk Pretty and Holidays on Ice started with strong, laugh-out-loud situations and characters. By the mid-point my enthusiasm had started to sag and towards the end I just trying to figure out the rotten fruit.
I listened to Me Talk Pretty on tape, and found it even funnier with Sedaris' comic timing in the delivery. I also liked how it begins with the speech "therapy" and eventually winds back up at a different kind of language lesson without the homophobic implications.
To me, Sedaris' writings are the literary equivalent of eclairs--very tasty while you're consuming them, completely inconsequential afterward. I remember enjoying "Me Talk Pretty One Day" as I was reading it, but can't remember a thing about it now.
I read his Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and was besides myself. I laughed myself silly, but kept being struck by the fact that I was really glad that I wasn't related to him.
Have you seen his Princeton commencement address in the New Yorker?
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