Reviews
Habillés pour l'hiver (22 épisodes de la vie d'une famille presque normale), by David Sedaris
mimosaeyes's review against another edition
4.0
Less funny, more sombre than his usual fare. At least, because a lot of the punchlines here are somewhat at his family members' expense, Sedaris balances this out with sentimental, self-reflexive notes. There are also political themes - in the sense of power, and perception - these made me uncomfortable and that seemed rather the point. I'm referring to "Chicken in the Henhouse" and "The Girl Next Door".
The ones that I found particularly affecting: "Hejira" and "The End of the Affair". "Nuit of the Living Dead" got a good chuckle out of me too.
The ones that I found particularly affecting: "Hejira" and "The End of the Affair". "Nuit of the Living Dead" got a good chuckle out of me too.
stackx's review against another edition
4.0
Read for the Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge: A book with more than 20 letters in its title
7/10
I really enjoyed the view that Sedaris brought to the essays in this book. I think a lot of people dislike the honesty with which he portrays himself and his family. I, for one, found it refreshing. We're all not perfect and we've all had moments of selfishness/greed/pride/disloyalty; etc and I appreciate that Sedaris acknowledges that.
PS: I highly recommend the audiobook version of this. The stories are that much funnier
7/10
I really enjoyed the view that Sedaris brought to the essays in this book. I think a lot of people dislike the honesty with which he portrays himself and his family. I, for one, found it refreshing. We're all not perfect and we've all had moments of selfishness/greed/pride/disloyalty; etc and I appreciate that Sedaris acknowledges that.
PS: I highly recommend the audiobook version of this. The stories are that much funnier
casey887's review against another edition
1.0
I've read 3 Sedaris' books including this one and I absolutely LOVE Me talk pretty one day and Squirrel seeks chipmunk BUT I REALLY didn't enjoy this book. I was bored to tears and I pretty much pulled teeth just to get to the end. I'm hoping this is just a hiccup because I plan on reading more from this Author in the future.
bookishbastard's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite of the David Sedaris books I've listened to so far, but there were a few stories that had me laughing out loud (like "Six to Eight Black Men").
kkop12's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to rate this one. I almost gave it a 4, as I thought some of his writings were REALLY funny, but in the end I just thought it was too all over the place for me. He jumped around in his life so much. I read about something in his childhood and get hooked and then all of a sudden he was an adult living in Paris with his partner. And then back to another part of his childhood…just too many lose ends for me, but that might just be his style.
sillyzilly's review against another edition
3.0
I think this book more or less heals the longtime (but gradually closing) rift between me and David Sedaris. I needed to learn that he's not so much a comedian as an essayist that is sometimes funny--oddly enough, I do better with his writing if I can read it to myself in his radio voice.
Lovely, funny, sad, crazy like his family is crazy. I like that he's kind of a bad person in the way that we are all kind of bad people.
Lovely, funny, sad, crazy like his family is crazy. I like that he's kind of a bad person in the way that we are all kind of bad people.
marryallthepeople's review against another edition
1.0
Shrug. This is most definitely not the funniest book ever. Nor did I like the writing story.
meredith_mccaskey's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book that produces snickers and cringes, rather than hearty laughs. His humor is often very dark- which is enjoyable if you like that kind (I usually do, though it sometimes depends on my mood.) I can’t help wondering what David’s siblings think of his portrayals of them. Do they hate him? Are they just excited to see themselves in print? Has he exaggerated them so much that they just think it’s funny?