Review of the latest by David Sedaris
squirrel seeks chipmunk
I give it an A. I have read all of his books and have long
been a fan. Ever since I first happened
upon a copy of Barrel Fever, I realized this guy was great. I was starting to sense a tail off—honestly
the last couple seemed to lack the energetic sarcasm that dripped from the
initial efforts.
But this—very witty and insightful. It is both funny and poignant which Sedaris
used to be and apparently still can be.
I highly suggest picking it up—very quick read. Just around 100 pamphlet-sized pages, the whole thing can be read
in a sitting but you may want to break your reading of all of the stories out
over a few days to try and absorb the new-style aphorisms he is dishing out at
a better pace.
Here are a few of the choice morals he chose with the 25+ stories
- Unfortunately
when at work (which is most of our waking hours) our opinions are not just
useless, but also counterproductive—when at work you should really use
your mouth exclusively for kissing ass
- Everyone’s
ethnocentricity comes out when they travel but Americans seem
like such assholes mostly because we are.
- Although
things usually work out for the best, our vanity keeps us hanging on to
dramatic representations of how we feel the world wronged us. (this may have been my
favorite of the stories)
- We are
all hypocrites yet we rarely hesitate to call someone else out on this
whenever it suits us.
- There is always someone worse off, and no
one wants to hear your problems so shut the fuck up.
And of course, there are many more. If you ever liked a Sedaris book in the past you'll love this book.
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