Holidays on Ice: Stories
by David Sedaris
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Book Summary Information
Author: David SedarisEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-11-01
ISBN: 0316779237
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of Holidays on Ice: Stories
Book Review: Perfect for the Holidays
Summary: 5 Stars
At 134 pages, Holidays on Ice is one of the shortest books I have read. But it has taken me about 4 months to finish it. No, it isn't that the book was boring, it was just that, well, at 134 pages, I found that I could put this book down and attack other, longer, books.
Contents:
SantaLand Diaries
Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!
Dinah, the Christmas Whore
Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol
Based Upon a True Story
Christmas Means Giving
"SantaLand Diaries" is worth the price of admission. This is David's diary of working as an Elf at Macy's SantaLand. Great inside look at working during the holidays at New York's Macy store. The other story that is a work of nonfiction is "Dinah, the Christmas Whore," where David talks about his sister's rescue of a woman during the holiday season. Extremely funny interaction at the Sedaris house, and David learns something about his family.
"Season's Greetings" is a very funny look at the tradition of sending out a letter to family friends recapping the year. A rather dysfunctional family, to be honest, and the ending has a nice twist. If you ever send out those letters, this letter is not one that you usually write. And that is what made it funny (and at times, laugh out loud funny). "Christmas Means Giving" gives a whole new meaning to the phrase. One-upmanship like you have never seen.
If you have kids, and you have attended the "Holiday Pageant," "Front Row..." is a nasty review of the children's pageant. But I guess that is what made this story so amusing - you may think it, but you would never say it. David lays it all out for you. Finally, "Based Upon a True Story," takes the whole reality TV/Made for TV genre to a new, lower, level. After reading those two stories, you realize that David can be dark and twisted.
I think that David is best when he writes about himself or his family. "SantaLand Diaries" and "Dinah" are the two best stories in the book, as he relates his own experiences for you. Reading this book during the Christmas season will bring a smile to your face and allow you to see the holidays in a whole new light.
Summary of Holidays on Ice: Stories
Holidays on Ice collects six of David Sedaris's most profound Christmas stories into one slender volume perfect for use as a last-minute coaster or ice scraper. This drinking man's companion can be enjoyed by the warmth of a raging fire, the glow of a brilliantly decorated tree, or even in the backseat of a van or police car. It should be read with your eyes, felt with your heart, and heard only when spoken to. It should, in short, behave much like a book. And, oh, what a book it is!Holidays on Ice is a collection of three previously published stories matched with three newer ones, all, of course, on a Christmas theme. David Sedaris's darkly playful humor is another common thread through the book, worming its way through "Seasons Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!" a chipper suburban Christmas letter that spirals dizzily out of control, and "Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol," a vicious theatrical review of children's Christmas pageants. As always, Sedaris's best work is his sharply observed nonfiction, notably in "Dinah, the Christmas Whore," the tale of a memorable Christmas during which the young Sedaris learns to see his family in a new light. Worth the price of the book alone is the hilarious "SantaLand Diaries," Sedaris's chronicle of his time working as an elf at Macy's, covering everything from the preliminary group lectures ("You are not a dancer. If you were a real dancer you wouldn't be here. You're an elf and you're going to wear panties like an elf.") to the perils of inter-elf flirtation. Along the way, he paints a funny and sad portrait of the way the countless parents who pass through SantaLand are too busy creating an Experience to really pay attention to their children. In a sly way, it carries a holiday message all its own. Read it aloud to the adults after the kids have gone to bed. --Ali Davis
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