Rating: 
Summary: A Blast!
Review:
Like NAKED, ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY is a collection of personal essays. Once again, Sedaris tackles territory that will be immediately recognizable to anyone who is familiar with his work: his family, his childhood in North Carolina, his early days in New York and his sexuality. However, there is much new material covered in this collection, most of it influenced by the time that he has spent recently living in France. While the rest of us have been going about our normal lives, Sedaris has been living part-time in France with his boyfriend, artist Hugh Hamrick, exploring Paris, struggling with the language, dealing with American tourists, and generally hating all things Gallic. With this collection, I found that David Sedaris has matured, but he hasn't lost his edge. It is hilariously funny, and had me laughing aloud from start to finish. Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous Essays...both beautifully written and hilarious!
Review:
ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY spends much less time in Sedaris' youth than NAKED did, with the second half of the book entirely devoted to his adventures living in Paris with his current boyfriend Hugh. The first half of the book is made up of his usual assortment of anecdotes and observations. The two pieces that open the book are among the strongest. "Go Carolina" finds the ten year old David encountering a subtle brand of homophobia in his school, where he is forced to take speech therapy to correct his "speech impediment" (read: "gay lisp"). He is pretty quick to catch on to the motivations behind these classes when, right from the beginning, his therapist questions him on his favorite sport teams, which he fakes his way through aware that "there were names for boys who didn't like sports." Especially after noting the complete absence of girls and popular boys among the therapist's students, David finds a particularly clever way to succeed in his therapy without actually succeeding. "Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities" finds him taking guitar lessons, against his will (his jazz-loving father dreams of having a musical family act despite his childrens' lack of interest or ability) from a dwarf named Mister Mancini, whom David comes to think of as a fellow outsider until Mancini clues into his homosexuality ("I'm not into that scene," he tells the bewildered kid). This story has much of the same poignancy of a similar piece in NAKED in which a black substitute teacher stands in front of the class cracking "queer" jokes, thus dispelling any of David's notions of solidarity among discriminated-against minorities. Another very funny essay entitled "Smart Guy" (page 239), is another highlight of the book. If you haven't read ANY Sedaris, ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY is an excellent place to start. The writing is fluid and slightly more sophisticated than in NAKED, each essay concluding gracefully and smartly. So pick up a copy! In addition to ME TALK PRETTY, I recommend RUNNING WITH SCISSORS by Burroughs, THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: Fan Of Memoirs
Review: <br />What a beautifully poignant memoir this is. Everyone should read this book. It is so beautifully written, I can not say enough wonderful words.<br /> Other Memoirs: Nightmares Echo by Katlyn Stewart,Lost Boy by David Pelzer,Beauty For Ashes by Joyce Meyer
Rating: 
Summary: Quite funny, but not sidesplitting
Review: Finally I jumped on the David Sedaris bandwagon, this being the first book by him I've read. It truly is pretty funny. It's a series of essays about his wacky family, living in France, and being on the subversive side of a very straight-laced U.S.
The book cover blurbs oversold it. I read reviewers say they "screamed with laughter" or found it "sidesplitting" or "wildly entertaining." It's mildly entertaining. Don't expect to scream with laughter.
You also have to suspend your belief to some degree. Exaggeration is okay but it's probably a major part of this autobiographical book. The first half is about growing up and adult life, and the second half is about life in France. There's not a lot of continuity here: it's truly a random collection of essays.
I don't want to leave a totally negative impression. Let me tell you two of my favorite lines from the book:
"...my childhood was unspeakably dull. When I was seven years old, my family moved to North Carolina. When he was seven years old, Hugh's family moved to the Congo. We had a collie and a house cat. They had a monkey and two horses named Charlie Brown and Satan."
Another, about a speech therapy class for boys with lisps: "When asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, we hid the truth and listed who we wanted to sleep with when we grew up: `A policeman or a fireman or one of those guys who works with high-tension wires.'"
Rating: 
Summary: dysfunctional family!
Review: I can't deny that this book is really funny, I got hooked from the first page reading about his speech problem but after several chapters, I lost interest, it is really hilarious to read about his family, but then the comic mood didn't satisfy me as a reader wanting more essence to his novel. It became a narration of a gay 40 something male and his wretched life, from drugs, failure in school, living in Paris with his boyfriend and really nothing substantial. Even when he talks about his family and how weird they are, you laugh hard, but then he leaves it as an open window for you to comment. You wonder what made him lead such a life, his parents? the way he grew up?
The writing is easy and smooth. You feel sometimes as if he is actually talking to you which makes it a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Occasionally funny but mostly just, you know, lame
Review: I don't know what it was, but through the whole book I couldn't shake the feeling that David Sedaris has no soul. Perhaps that is unfair; but it is not unfair to say his book is a soulless, vapid, trite, tired collection of essays with lame titles like "The Youth in Asia." Har har. I feel like every decent joke was something I'd heard or read somewhere else. No one's suing Sedaris for plagiarism? Where's the justice? I gave this three stars mostly because it was such a quick read that there wasn't enough time for me to get annoyed with it. I think I laughed a couple times. Not terrible for 272 pages.
Rating:
Summary: He can write....
Review: I got "Me Talk Pretty One Day" after being bombarded by mainstream and gay press as this being the new wonder boy in story telling. I expected fiction but instead got Mr. Sedaris's life rehashed with little anecdotes and humor interjected in between. Most of the stories will make you chuckle here and there, some real writing talent, but they don't even begin to touch real stories that you'll remember and reflect upon. It's just like he's sitting in a coffee shop recalling stories from his life and throwing some humor in there. Kinda pulp I'd say. One important note though: If you've never heard David Sedaris talk you've got to find some NPR interviews or something. He has a high pitched, feminine voice, that at first had me thinking he was a 70 year old Billy Corgan. Once you've heard his voice it actually makes reading the stories much more entertaining; because you've got him narrating them in your head! Decent stories, great writing style, but not much thought in there.
Rating:
Summary: absolutely hilarious
Review: I have never read a book so consistantly funny. I wasn't laughing at every page, but there was at least one line or paragraph in each essay that honestly made me laugh out loud. I won't give any away; enough are posted here. Any more, and I'd give away half the laughs.I'll admit, I wondered what was going on in Sedaris' head at some points, but at others his thoughts so closely mirrored my own that it was just too funny. His one-liners and anecdotes are wonderfully witty (my favorite was the American tourists in Paris who arrogantly think no one else on the train speaks English). He accurately points out negative qualities of Americans in the second half, yet he doesn't talk down to his readers as he himself is a lazy loaf who spends most of his time in France in a movie theater. Just wonderful. You'll laugh your way through it.
Rating:
Summary: You'll laugh pretty hard
Review: I went to the bookstore in search of any book that would catch my interest. I browsed through quite a few books but when I read the first page of ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY, I knew I had to have it. It's absolutely hilarious. It's a little bold and crude but its the funniest book I've read. It's wittiness makes you want to scream with laughter. I read the whole thing three times it always cheers me up when I feel blue. My favorite story is BIG BOY. It's probably the shortest but no matter how many times I've read it, it always makes me laugh out loud. Also recently enjoyed a collection from McCrae titled THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. Really riveting material that packs a punch. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: I've read this book twice, and it was even funnier the second time. Sedaris has had very interesting and amusing life experiences, and he's more than willing to share these with us. As a chain-smoking, lisping homosexual in a country that has banned smoking for the most part and often detests gay men with "effeminate" characteristics, Sedaris is unabashed and certainly not regretful. He shares his experiences of his quirky family that includes his sister Amy Sedaris, former star of "Strangers with Candy" and his rotten-fruit-eating father. He recounts his struggles with a speech therapist who attempts to correct his lisping (the apparently obvious mark of homosexuality) and his brilliant tactics to avoid its correction. Many of his stories are taken from his time in France where he lived with his boyfriend Hugh. These stories successfully convey both the difficulties and joys of living the expatriate life - appreciating a new culture, learning a new language, and viewing American tourists in a new and often all too revealing light. The best of his stories, in my opinion, unleashes onto us his younger brother, a foul-mouthed, gangster rap fan who is a stark contrast to his father but is his most dependable support. This particular story really demonstrates what Sedaris is capable of. It's incredibly funny but so poignant at the same time. This book will make you laugh at loud, and I hope you get a chance to read it. Make sure you check out "Naked" also for more of Sedaris' brilliance.
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