Me Talk Pretty One Day
Sedaris, David. 2001. Me Talk Pretty One Day. Reprint. Back Bay Books.
Rating:
8
Summary:
well-written and funny
The book is a collection of short stories, all of which I believe are based on the author’s actual experiences. Some of the stories are about Sedaris’s childhood and his life just before leaving for France, but the majority about his time spent in France.
Review:
All of the stories are well-written, engaging, and entertaining. As is the case with ‘Holidays On Ice’, the author never reveals when a story is fictitious or not, but I was inclined to believe that all of these were non-fiction (though there might be an embellishment here or there).
I’m also not sure what, if anything, I missed because I listened to this book on CD, but the live recordings for some reason were even more funny than his normal writings. Listening to them live is definitely a boon for the CD version.
I was impressed by the author’s candor about his personal life. To be willing to reveal one’s quirks and even poke fun at them takes either a lot of money or a lot of self-security. I’m not sure which is Sedaris’s motivation, but whatever it is, it’s nice to hear someone being frank about life.
Though the stories jump all over the place and don’t really seem to have a common thread, I don’t think anyone can argue that Sedaris has a gift for telling poignant and humorous short stories. The stories are a bit outlandish and the author is blunt, meaning they probably aren’t for everyone, but I would definitely recommend this book.