Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious
Review: This book is a collection of humorous essays having to do with the author’s life and his observations, similar in format to those we’ve seen by Woody Allen, Steve Martin, George Carlin, or, if you go back far enough, Robert Benchley. They start when he was a boy in junior high school taking speech therapy lessons (“The word therapy suggested a profound failure on my part. Mental patients had therapy”), to his life as a fortysomething adult in France. In between he lives with his family in western New York and Raliegh, North Carolina, and as he grows up he works in various occupations in New York and Chicago. He also travels a lot. The essays are uneven to the extent that while some of them will cause you to bellow or guffaw uproariously, many will only cause you to chuckle gently or giggle uncontrollably. Yes, the book is that funny. Of course, the author was lucky enough to grow up in the Addams family. I take that back. The Addams family looks like Make Room for Daddy in comparison with Mr. Sedaris’ family. There is his father, to begin with, who, among other things, can’t bear to throw away food. He keeps little bits of it tucked in the pockets of his clothes, his suitcase, behind his bed, you name it. Occasionally he’ll whip out a piece and start chewing. There is his sister, born and bred to be thin, who surprises her father one day with her “fat-suit.” She is also prone to saying things to her brother like, “Good luck on beating that rape charge!” while exiting a crowded subway with him on it. And then there is the pathologically profane brother, the self-proclaimed, “Rooster.” Mr. Sedaris has a lot of material to draw from, but then, it is doubtful that anyone else could quite put it his way. The brother essay is particularly funny. 5’4”, with a high, girlish voice, eleven years younger than Mr. Sedaris, he is the one member of the family who took to the South, unlike the rest of these transplanted New Yorkers. But I suspect even the South would have reservations about the Rooster: “Certain m*********** think they can f*** with my s***,” he says. “But you can’t kill the Rooster. You might f*** him up sometimes, but, b****, nobody kills the m************ Rooster. You know what I’m saying?” And then there is Mr. Sedaris trying to learn French, in France, with Poles and Italians and Koreans. The teacher asks them to try to explain Easter to the Morrocan student who has never heard of it. “A party for the little boy of God who call his self Jesus.” “He make the good things, and on the Easter we be sad because somebody makes him dead today.” “One too may eat of the chocolate,” says the Italian nanny. The teacher asks them who brings the chocolate. “The rabbit of Easter. He bring of the chocolate.” I could go on with this, but it is difficult to type when one’s fingers are shaking from laughing so hard. There is so much more. I’ve barely even scratched the surface. This book is a real treat. Light, witty, clever, occasionally insightful and always very, very funny. It serves as a great, humorous break between reading the Tolstoys and the Dostoyevskys of the world, and best of all, you don’t have to sacrifice your intelligence to do so.
Rating:
Summary: oh my god he is so funny
Review: i haven't read anything by anyone funnier, and i wish i could find more books as funny as this one. i read it on the metro on the way to work and couldn't keep myself from laughing out loud. so half of d.c. thinks i'm crazy, but that's ok b/c it was worth it. it's such a great book. it will pick you back up in no time.
Rating: 
Summary: a really funny read-and very empathetic
Review: David Sedaris's style is wonderful. It is surpassed only by his imagination for topics to write about. The chapter on learning French had me on the floor laughing. Nearly 30 years, ago when we emigrated to Israel, we attended daily classes in Hebrew and his stringing together of sentences reminded me so much of myself at that time. Highly recommended for anyone who likes quirky humour and a great writing style.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you, David!
Review: A review in less than 1000 words... FANTASTIC!
Rating: 
Summary: not as consistently funny as Naked, but still entertaining
Review: This collection of humorous essays is a bit more uneven than David Sedaris's previous ones (Naked, Barrel Fever), and that's why it merits just 3 stars. Sedaris is at his best here when he recalls his experiences as an American living in Paris. Skip right to part "deux," if you want, and let the hilarity begin.
Rating:
Summary: Wit, humor and lunacy!
Review: This book was one of the best collections of short stories I have ever read. Sedaris writes with a wit that I have rarely seen and brings incredible self-depricating humor to this book. His attempts to learn French are hysterical as are the reported quirks of his family members. In their quirks, and his as well, one is really reminded of the insanity that even seemily normal people take part in. I laughed outloud constantly and found this a very touching and funny book. For those of you who want a comparison to his earlier book Naked, I find it was consistently better. Naked had just a few duds in it, but Me Talk Pretty was consistent story by story. Simply excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Tears of Laughter
Review: I frequently had to put this book down to clear the tears in my eyes from laughter! Beside those moments, I put aside all else to read this book. David Sedaris's whimsical look at his own quirky life draws you into his world. I've gained a few good one liners from this book that I try to work into conversation as frequently as possible, like "I know cats who way more than his IQ" or "her rear is so large you could land a chopper on it". Nothing vulgar or offensive; just a joyous look at life through David Sedaris's eyes. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Best in small doses
Review: I love David Sedaris on "This American Life," but this book doesn't come up to quite the same standard. Sedaris's skewed version of deadpan is incredibly funny in small doses, but ironic self-involvement can wear a little thin over the length of a book. Also, the stories lose something on the page, compared to the radio. When you're listening to Sedaris's voice, the whole experience seems more intimate, as if you were listening to a friend. You lose that sense when you simply read his words, and sometimes you end up feeling, "Why is this guy telling me all this?"
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: There are reviewers of this book who claim that it made them laugh so hard that they became publicly embarrassed. I can't say the same. I kept waiting for the book to START being funny, and it never did. Vapid,pointless, and dull. Not even a patch on Stephen Fry's "Moab Is My Washpot." The Fry book is funny and true and informative. The Sedaris book is a harmless and inoffensive bit of nothingness...a true tribute to the comic genius of NPR.
Rating:
Summary: See You Again Yesterday
Review: Me Talk Pretty One Day is a wildly funny account of David Sedaris's life. The essays contained in the book recount different events - growing up in North Carolina, attempting to be an artist, struggling to find work, and eventually moving to Paris with his partner. In one of the funniest chapters, Sedaris writes about his first visit to France. Expecting exciting sites and fun shopping, he is taken to Normandy, where everyone stares at the odd Americans. Knowing only the word for "bottleneck," he travels the countryside reciting the word. The beauty of this book is that experiences that could have been painful and heartwrenching are portrayed in such a humorous fashion. Not only can the reader get enjoyment in the book, but it encourages us to see the lighter side of the world around us. Very strongly recommended!
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