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Summary: Poignancy & Humor Are A Delightful Mix
Review: David Sedaris delivers a delightful array of autobiographical moments in "Me Talk Pretty One Day" The author not only forces the reader to laugh out loud, but beneath the mirth are serious and thoughtful moments. The poignancy and humor are a delightful mix.The first chapter sets the stage as Sedaris describes his speech therapy in a Carolina grade school. The school is trying to correct his lisp. In reality they are concerned about his potential homosexuality. Sedaris has fun describing the scene. Beneath the surface you feel his anguish. The rest of the book is a colorful blur of stories about his family, early jobs and other facets of his life. Two highlighted phases is an early addiction to speed and a later residency in Paris. In each incident Sedaris is a clown when it comes to self-depreciation, but his smiles lightly cloaks some more serious themes. I recommend "Me Talk Pretty One Day" because of the diverse perspective it delivers. At minimum you will be entertained. At the same time David Sedaris introduces real social and cultural issues without sermonizing.
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Summary: Beyond funny
Review: I first heard David Sedaris on public radio and found his essays to be extremely funny and insightful. This book continues that tradition very well. Sedaris is an autobiographer, a social satirist and a wit. In some ways, however, he reminds me of the Jerry character on Seinfeld: He is funny on his own, but is funniest when he is the straight man for the genuinely eccentric people in his life. His family--from his beautiful sister who makes herself ugly to his foul-mouthed redneck brother to his sly, understated mother and his father, a screamingly funny IBM engineer with the strangest eating habits -- are the real stars here. Even his partner, who gets relatively little play in this book, is great fun. Each essay has something to recommend it. While I thought the essays from France were more insightful and less humorous than the essays about his growing up, they all worked. And several were so funny I was unable to read them to my wife because I was laughing too hard to get the words out. Read this book for the humor and you will happily reflect later on some keen social commentary. (Note to earlier reviewer: Sedaris is much funnier than Bryson, and for much longer stretches.)
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Summary: Humor?
Review: Maybe, being a 60 plus, I simply do not understand Sedaris' humor, but this book is the biggest disappointment I have read in a long time. Moderately entertaining, perhaps, but funny, no! If you want laugh-out-loud funny, read any of the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich; or Edward Abbey's "Monkey Wrench Gang" or anything by Dana Stabenow, funniest being "Breakup"; or anything by Carl Hiassen or Dave Barry. Mark Twain is funny and smart. Sedaris is pathetic.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the kind of 'funny' I was expecting
Review: According to almost all of the other reviews, here and elsewhere, this entire book is screaming/rolling on the floor/laughing out loud funny. I did NOT find this to be so, and it's not like I'm one of those people who never laughs out loud; I laugh all the time. So, expecting to be disturbing friends and strangers by laughing in public places for no apparent reason, I was a little bit disappointed when ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY turned out to be much more subtle and profound than uproariously funny. I'm still not over that disappointment, but I found myself through the book in two short afternoon sittings, thoroughly enjoying the ride and a little [angry] when it ended so abruptly. Sedaris writes about anything and everything with consistent humor -- something few writers can really pull off -- that had me more or less constantly smiling. (And then occasionally a real laugh -- the kind that ends with gasping and tears in your eyes -- would escape me, most memorably during the three page "Big Boy.") He's a little bit cynical and a little bit insecure and at the same time totally unapologetic, and the mix works very well. Disappointments aside, I'd buy another of his books any day. (Side note to those who are looking for constant, crazy laughter of the kind descibed above: read anything -- ANYTHING -- by Bill Bryson.)
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Summary: A laugh-out-loud, can't-put-it-down book!!!
Review: This book is a terrifically funny collection of stories. David Sedaris is an amazing writer. I can't wait for another book.
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Summary: Talking Pretty Is Difficult
Review: In this book, the reader can empathize with the difficulties children and adults have, while learning to speak correctly. Mr. Sedaris starts with "s" difficulties, and after conquering that, continues on with his life to encounter drug problems and the French language. The humor Mr. Sedaris displays while painting vivid pictures of his father, who has unique shopping and eating habits, and his boyfriend, who grew up in Africa, are very entertaining. I especially like the descriptions of Africa that he tells, making them sound as if they were his own memories, rather than his boyfriend's. Overall, I found the book to be very good, but enjoyed some parts more than others.
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Summary: Bring Oxygen
Review: There are moments in this book where you'll have to stop and catch your breath. If I felt the need to read aloud from the book I found myself giving pause to gather the strength needed to continue on. The stories in this book are, in my opinion, lighter than those one would find in "Naked". The style is the same but the laughs come much more often.
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Summary: One of the Funniest Books Around!
Review: This was my first Sedaris book. Needless to say, it won't be my last. While there were a few stories that left me searching for the punchline, the majority of them were hilarious! I haven't laughed this much since reading "Without Feathers" by Woody Allen. I also enjoyed the diversity of the stories presented; it wasn't uncommon for a story about social inequality to be followed by one rife with toilet humor. My advice--read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Me Talk Pretty One Day
Review: In this book, David Sedaris gives us a comical look into his life, starting with when he was pulled out of classes in 5th grade for Speech Therapy, and continuing through his French lessons in Paris. The strange events that he recounts give the reader vivid details about his unique history of growing up with a father that had strange shopping and eating habbits, and his own wildly liberal college education. I especially liked the chapter where he was recounting his boyfriend's childhood in Africa, as if he had been there himself. His details make it possible to imagine that you were actually there, too.
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Summary: Sedaris can't kill the rooster
Review: The rooster is what I call myself whenput in a threatening situation. David Sedaris has tried to kill the rooster. Twice. One time, I was in the Seattle Airport eating some recommended by Oprah fried chicken,and I waslaughing so hard at Barrel Fever that I actually choked on Oprah's chicken and had to pull a bone out of my throat. The rooster choked on chicken. ........Well, the second time Sedaris almost killed me was last week when I was reading the story "You Can't kill The Rooster". This is a story about his brother who is so very different from the rest of his family. This is a masterwork in storytelling and and character. I was laughing so hard that I nearly died.....People argue that Sedaris is inconsistent. I certainly didn't laugh out loud at all the pieces but I did at least thirty percent of them. I really can't think of a time I have laughed at thirty percent of anything........In this world of guarded storytelling, Sedaris is not afraid to show his warts, his families blemishes, and the world's scabs. Whether it be teaching,tourism,fancy restaurants, Easter(Jesus Shaves in another hilarious piece)or living in a foreign country,Sedaris consistently translates the plight of the odd man out in such a way that you laugh until you choke on a chicken bone, but you can't help but think about the pieces for a while after. ...This is a highly hilarious and recommendable work.
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