Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
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Book Reviews of Me Talk Pretty One Day
Book Review: Sedaris tops even himself
Summary: 5 Stars
I wouldn't have believed that David Sedaris could get any funnier, but he has. With "Me Talk Pretty One Day," Sedaris strolls down something of an autobiographical lane. The title story refers to his efforts to learn French in a language class in France (he has inconveniently neglected to learn French before having moved to France with his lover). From his beginnings as a performance artist (one of his friends specialized in a performance piece that involved the artist being shot in the shoulder with a rifle), Sedaris moves on to moving (see the scathing summations of all the folks he's ever had the bad luck to move, including the woman who had not bothered to pack up a single item before the movers arrived) and other things. Sometimes he takes a side trip, as when he goes home to visit his father and his sister Amy happens to be there as well. Amy, who hasn't been home in some time, decides to wear a fat suit the entire weekend. The effect of the fat suit on Mr. Sedaris is mind-bogglingly funny--he spends the entire weekend trying subtly to get her to eat less, to go out for a quick run--anything to get her to lose weight. But the best thing by far has to be the classroom full of sundry nationalities, all trying in their crippled French to explain to a Moroccan student what Easter is:"It would seem that despite having grown up in a Muslim country, she would have heard it mentioned once or twice, but no. 'I mean it,' she said. 'I have no idea what you people are talking about.' The teacher called upon the rest of us to explain. The Poles led the charge to the best of their ability. 'It is,' said one, 'a party for the little boy of God who call his self Jesus and . . . oh, s--t.' She faltered and her fellow countryman came to her aid. 'He call his self Jesus and then he be die one day on two . . . morsels of . . . lumber.' The rest of the class jumped in, offering bits of information that would have given the pope an aneurysm. 'He die one day and then he go above of my head to live with your father.' 'He weared of himself the long hair and after he die, the first day he come back here for to say hello to the peoples.' 'He nice, the Jesus.' 'He makes the good things, and on the Easter we be sad because somebody makes him dead today.' Part of the problem had to do with vocabulary. Simple nouns such as 'cross' and 'resurrection' were beyond our grasp, let alone such complicated reflexive phrases as 'to give of yourself your only begotten son.' " Humor writing doesn't get any better than this.
Book Review: He sure talks pretty to my ears
Summary: 5 Stars
Are you ready to read a book that is written as relaxed as you are reading it? David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day is one of the funniest true to life books I have ever read. This book takes you through David's dysfunctional childhood all the way up to his life in the present. The situations he encounters in life are written so beautifully that you feel like he is sitting next to you at a party and everyone is laughing around him. I started reading the first chapter, which is written about his eccentric father who loves his family but has problems expressing support for his weird children, next thing I know I'm on page 112 and hanging on his every word like it's juicy high school gossip. Reading further in the book you come to know that David Sedaris's inner thoughts remind you of the thoughts you giggle about to only to yourself. The life of David Sedaris you would think would be filled with happy childhood memories surrounded by scholarly achievements and lots of money. After putting the book down I forget sometimes this guy is the author of a National Best Seller and not a buddy of mine. You can find truth and humor in every one of his chapters as well as a story you can relate to. Using humor and a great writing technique Sedaris takes you to Paris where he has moved without knowing anything about the French language. He enrolls in a French class where he is instructed by a professor who takes her language a little too seriously. This chapter starts his many triumphs to win over the life of Parisian in a country that hates him. With his adventures changing in every chapter you never become bored with each insight he pulls you closer. Sedaris's descriptive storytelling style is the greatest I ever read and I'm not surprised I haven't heard of him sooner. When you think your life is crazy read a couple chapters and you can put that same funny twist on life and survive anything with a good sense of humor. The last chapter like the first is about his father, there you see his father may be strange but the respect he has for the man that wanted David to be happy and supported no matter what crazy dream he would follow. Finishing the book I reflected on the many different struggles David Sedaris lived through the most was drugs and the influence it had over his art and what he did to overcome his addiction. The end result impresses me the most; he has taken a troubled life and made it a funny learning experience that all can relate too. -Lee from Louisville
Book Review: Baring your soul in boxer shorts and black socks
Summary: 5 Stars
Having just finished Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, I felt really let down. Not because the book was a failure in my eyes, but because it was over, and I had no more opportunities to laugh out loud,nudge people and say, "Hey, listen to this!" Which doesn't exactly buy me any points with anyone. The book is the best of its genre: ascerbic and witty and, as I used to tell my creative writing students, self-effacing. One can hardly point out the absurdity of others without showing his own, and Sedaris does such a clean, uncluttered job of it that my critical editor demon, who lives in the hope that she will get a good piece of prose to chew up and spit out, goes hungry, and I am fed just enough. He manages to tell just enough, enough to make the reader believe in the truth as stranger than fiction essays in the book. I was being treated like an adult, one with enough intelligence to see much more than is on the paper, trusted with intimate details of a life strangely lived. Sedaris is the kind of writer that makes you want to meet him, hang out with and talk to and listen and try not to be embarrassed at the fact that he is maybe oblivious to the social laws he is breaking by sitting in boxer shorts and black socks in an outdoor restaurant. And I want to do the same. On a trip to England, my husband and I watched Miss Firecracker on the television in our room instead of joining in with the rest of the country's celebration of the 50th anniversary of D Day, which just happened to begin when we arrived, and which I was unaware of until getting off the plane. As we staggered into Heathrow, hundreds of signs were waving, hoping to connect with the great numbers of older couples,politicians, and entourages that had accompanied us on the flight. And on our return,a week after OJ drove down a California highway with a disguise and his passport, we were oblivious to the event and sordid details until we hit Boston. That's the kind of thing Sedaris helps us see--the embarrassment and confusion of coming into the room and knowing everyone is talking and then they suddenly turn to look at you and you want to think you don't know why but you have probably six reasons tucked away ready to jump up and own the enbarrassment and humiliation.
I loved this book, pure and simple, and hope others who avoid nonfiction like the plague, as I do, will give it a try.
Book Review: Super entertaining !!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had heard so much about David Sedaris that I had to go out and grab a copy of "Me Talk Pretty One Day" to see what all the hype and kudos was about. I found my answer in no time. As soon as I got into the book, I was chuckling with laughter and wincing with fascination. Sedaris has to have led one of the funniest, most bizarre lives Ive ever heard of. His father's over-zealous attempts to foster a talent in each of his children (in spite of their glaring lack of talent in any of the fields he respectively assigned them) is a source of much laughter in the book. David's encounters with his midget guitar teacher had me on the floor, gasping for breath from laughter. But I think the story that stood out for me the most is "You cant kill the rooster" about Sedaris's foul-mouthed, monosyllabic, rap-loving brother....that one's a real hoot, I read it and re-read it!!
Actually, there were so many good stories that its hard to choose a favorite. I love "Twelve moments in the life of the artist" about Sedaris' phase of amphetamine addiction...his trips on speed are hilarious. Then there's the one after which the book is titled, which chronicles Sedaris' struggle with the French language while residing in Paris. Generally, the first half of the book is better than the second, but overall a really great read....very entertaining, and in my opinion, very endearing as well. Sedaris writes about his human foibles with no shame, there is a loveable honesty in his work, plus he manages to draw humour out of the most mundane of events. Something about him reminds me of Henry Miller, maybe the story called "Big Boy" about a giant turd swimming in his friend's loo.....very reminiscent of the famous turd scene in "Tropic of Cancer."
And while Im rambling on about the book, I just have to mention the opening story (entitled "Go Carolina") about Sedaris's attempts to avoid any word with "s" so as to evade the trauma dished out on him by his speech therapist whenever he lisps. Hilarious !! At one point, teh therapist asked him what his family generally does on New Year's eve, and he replied "on the final day of the year we take down the pine tree in our living room and eat marine life" to avoid saying "seafood." Go get your copy readers, this book's a keeper !!
Book Review: Hilarious inspiration
Summary: 5 Stars
As a fan of the author, I'm going to write a glowing review of his work regaurdless of content. I followed his example, writing stories about my family and turned them into somewhat tall tales. But David Sedaris absolutely, poisitively rocks.
While here we take another look at his ever evolving path in life as he teaches French classes and eventually moves to France with his boyfriend Hugh, the stories about his personal experiences and his family are the true gems. We can all relate to his stories as a child, in his case being picked on and forced to undergo the humiliation of speech therapy in school. That was a good point, if they singled out the future homosexuals through this process then what did they do for the future drunks or wife beaters? And what's so hilarious is that when I look back on the kids I went to grade school with I see signs of that behavior in the adults they became. But who knew then?
I roared with laugher about his family pets and how Lou and Sharon loved their Great Dane, Molina, more than their own children. Now that my sister and I are out of the house, my parents did the same thing (only they have cats). 12 Moments In The Life of an Artist was wonderful as it preys on every pretentious artist I've ever encountered. "It's all about my art! You just don't understand! I'm too creative to lead a 9 to 5 type life!" Yeah, they're too creative to lead a mundane life and they're always broke, but they have plenty of money to buy drugs and are creative enough to make messes rather than a living all in the name of art. His father made one story by shouting "Hey there, sport!" during one of his preformance art presentations, and the whole audience thought it was brilliant and revolutionary. HA!
And how can we ignore the baby of the family, his brother Paul, a.k.a. The Rooster? You could write a book about that nutcase! His hillbilly, obnoxious, crass brother getting into fist fights and floor sanding for a living whose speech is a complex hybrid of rap music, New Yorkese and a South Carolina drawl. You couldn't make that up!
A hilarious, yet serious look at life. A must have for any writer for wonderful inspiration and a zest for life.