shanviolinlove's review against another edition
2.0
David Sedaris should stick to his essays.
I thought the idea of one of my favorite American writers tackling fiction sounded promising, but each short story was insipid and unimaginative, with poorly written prose that sounded more like childish fan fiction than the sophisticated wit and timing present in his essays. He demonstrates his skill as an observer in his nonfiction ("Santaland Diaries" is worth reading), but lacks the ingenuity to produce anything eventful in fiction.
I thought the idea of one of my favorite American writers tackling fiction sounded promising, but each short story was insipid and unimaginative, with poorly written prose that sounded more like childish fan fiction than the sophisticated wit and timing present in his essays. He demonstrates his skill as an observer in his nonfiction ("Santaland Diaries" is worth reading), but lacks the ingenuity to produce anything eventful in fiction.
starness's review against another edition
3.0
The first couple of short stories didn't hit the mark for me so I was a little concerned going in to what I had actually signed up for, but going forward I started to comprehend the authors voice and it fell into place for me, which makes rating this one hard.
Although not all the essays worked for me, I gather from other reviews this maybe isn't his finest work but I can see some glimpses of genius at play. His style is distinct however with many of his characters being mean spirited, down and out seedy characters who most of them happen to be gay, making it quite obvious what the author's orientation is, not that that matters at all in any way, but most of these characters he chooses to portray here are pretty vile leaving a bad taste in my mouth, but luckily that didn't turn me off, so I'm happy to see what else he has to offer and will be keen to explore his later publications as I enjoyed his wicked acerbic characterisations and observations
Although not all the essays worked for me, I gather from other reviews this maybe isn't his finest work but I can see some glimpses of genius at play. His style is distinct however with many of his characters being mean spirited, down and out seedy characters who most of them happen to be gay, making it quite obvious what the author's orientation is, not that that matters at all in any way, but most of these characters he chooses to portray here are pretty vile leaving a bad taste in my mouth, but luckily that didn't turn me off, so I'm happy to see what else he has to offer and will be keen to explore his later publications as I enjoyed his wicked acerbic characterisations and observations
tucked_snuggly's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
1.5
The essays are much better than any of the stories, but only the SantaLand Diaries were any good.
kelby14's review against another edition
4.0
I finally read David Sedaris and I am glad I did. It was a great read. There are so many great essays and stories in this book. I was chuckling through out the whole book. Sometimes I would check myself because some of the humor in the earlier stories was kind of absurd or dark, but then I read Santaland Diaries and I couldn't stop laughing. The person who was in the study room with me couldn't stop staring probably wondering if I had lost my mind. Although that last piece was the best, I still think overall the book was worth it, but if you don't have alot of time I recommend just cutting to the chase and reading Santaland Diaries. You will not regret it!