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Summary: David Sedaris has figured it out
Review: In his previous collections, Barrel Fever, Holidays on Ice, and Naked, Sedaris' works have been sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing and grim, and sometimes all three. His best works, though, were always the funny essays based on his own life. (Fortunately, he's weird enough that this works.) And in Me Talk Pretty One Day, he shows that he's realized where his strength lies.The first portion of Me Talk Pretty, prosaically named One, contains more of his reminisces about his family. These stories are often funny, usually with an underlying tension, and their conclusions are usually wry or bittersweet. "Go Carolina" is a perfect example of these, talking about Sedaris' years in speech therapy as a child, and suggesting that perhaps his parents, teachers, and therapists were trying to fix something other than just a speech impediment. Deux, the other half of the book, concerns Sedaris' life in France, especially his attempts to learn French. Most of the essays in Deux are truly hysterical. They're the kind of thing where, after a few minutes of reading, your eyes are tearing up from lack of oxygen and your loved one has awoken from a sound sleep (probably because the bed was vibrating with your laughter) and is threatening to call an ambulance or suffocate you with a pillow. Deux has attractions in addition to the humor in the stories. It's nice to see that Sedaris can write - and write well - about something other than his screwy childhood and screwed-up history. Sooner or later Sedaris is bound to run out of humorous anecdotes about his past, and Me Talk Pretty is an indication that when he does, he'll still have good stuff to write about - his present. In fact, if this book is anything to go by, Sedaris' works will only improve on that day - in the distant future, of course - when he puts the past in, well, the past. (Caveat: do not read this book in public places unless you enjoy looking like someone with a major nervous system disorder and a bronchial problem. Books like this are best enjoyed either by yourself or in the company of people who have to love you, no matter how strange you look.)
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Summary: If you've studied French abroad (or not), you're gonna laugh
Review: They say that laughter is good for your health. Read ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY and you'll be feeling healthier! I read this book when I was having a very bad day and I felt myself starting to guffaw! David Sedaris' experiences in France and learning to speak French and feeling stilted and awkward made me laugh! Thirty years ago I studied French and I remember the French people correcting me in such a way that seemed humilating at the time, but pretty funny when I read about David Sedaris' similar experiences. I felt like calling him up and saying, "I know just what you're talking about!" This is the first book that I read of his, but I'm going to get the rest... FUNNY!
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Summary: funniest yet
Review: I wish that I had purchased the tapes because part of the enjoyment of David Sedaris's stories is hearing him tell them. I still enjoyed reading the book, but found myself trying to hear his voice reading it to me as he does on NPR. I was amused by every story and often laughed out loud.
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Summary: Countless Belly Laughs
Review: Anyone who read Naked would be wise to read this latest collection--Me Talk Pretty One Day is a suitable encore to Sedaris' previous book; it is full of residual laughter that may feel like it comes more from one's familiarity with his world view than these actual pages but is hilarious nonetheless. MTP1D doesn't hang together the way the brilliant Naked did but it's well worth the purchase (especially at this price) because it will have you quivering with laughter, countless times.
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Summary: The first book that made me laugh out loud.
Review: I often find that when others claim a book is funny, it usually isn't very humorous. However, Me Talk Pretty One Day is the exception to this rule. Sedaris' short essays about small things in life are much like a Seinfield episode. His telling style and honesty about himself makes you feel as humble and as human as he is throughout the book. It is extremley well done, and it extremley hilarious.
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Summary: Very, very funny
Review: ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY is second only to NAKED. It's a very funny read.
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Summary: Weep with laughter - it's good for your health!
Review: My cousin, Lisa, and I share many satisfying and hilarous experiences (college roommates being just one), and for whatever reason, we are David Sedaris soulmates. After she read my review of "Naked" [...] she has been a fan. This year for my birthday, she paid me back ten-fold with "Me Talk Pretty One Day," the best Sedaris yet. Most of Sedaris' work is what you might call "sort of" autobiographical. I say, "sort of" because it is a little hard for me to believe all of what he writes is true - embellished truths? Absolutely. From his childhood in North Carolina (filled with wise-cracking, drinking, smoking mother, psycho younger brother (The "Rooster") and odd-ball father (to whom he dedicates the book), we read these funny short pieces about his speech therapist (a speech 'nazi'), his midget guitar teacher (his father had dreams of the kids being a famous musical group), his drug abuse experiences, and finally, a number of pieces about learning French and living in France, where he finds himself having followed his partner. I ended up reading pieces of this book (while on vacation) to whichever member of my family I could capture, and the two of us were generally reduced to tears. Believe it or not, the drug use pieces were a scream - incredibly pathetic but hysterical. The best was toward the end when Sedaris describes being in a French subway (obviously looking very French) and listening to a loud American man warn his wife that she should watch her pocketbook because this shifty-looking French guy (Sedaris!) behind her was likely to snatch her purse. All in all, like much of what I've read of Sedaris, any author who can reduce me to tears is a god-send. The best physical therapy in the world is to weep with laughter.
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Summary: David very, very funny writer!
Review: Mr. Sedaris has done it again. His wit, warmth and irrevent style, had me laughing, crying and reflecting. The essay entitled "Big Boy" had me recalling a similar incident, which happened to me on a friend's boat! Mr. Sedaris has the capacity to make his readers uncomfortable. Why? Because his reality is not so far removed from ours, if we are honest. He is wonderful and so is this book.
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Summary: wonderful -- irreverent and uniquely twisted
Review: If you've never read David Sedaris, or heard his radio pieces (often featured on National Public Radio) then start now. A friend of mine recommended him to me and he is one of the funniest authors I have ever read. He views the world from a perspective that not only have most people never heard, they've never even conceived of it. To some, he might seem crude or offensive, but he is also sharp, witty and unique. He writes about topics that one would never expect to find an essay on, but he always hits the nail on the head. I recommend him to everyone, no matter what you like to read, because there has to be an essay in here that speaks to you.
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Summary: WHAT FUN!
Review: I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS GUY. WHAT A TWISTED, HYSTERICAL TAKE HE HAS ON EVERYDAY OCCURENCES. I HAVE ENJOYED ALL HIS BOOK AND Me Talk Pretty One Day LIVED UP TO MY GREAT EXPECTATIONS. IT DELIVERED LAUGH-OUT-LOAD GEMS IN EACH AND EVERY CHAPTER. THE EXAMPLES GIVEN FOR A PEOPLE MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE...HIS PATRIOTIC PRIDE IN EXPLAINING JODY FOSTER'S "PACKAGE"......IN THE WORDS OF MRS. SEINFELD: HOW COULD ANYONE NOT LIKE HIM? WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?
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