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Summary: If You Read Nothing Else From Sedaris
Review:
You need to read his 'SantaLand Diaries,' which is a kind of journal of his days employed as an ELF for Macy's department store in New York City. If you've ever felt humiliated at your job (and most of us have) check this out! It's truly hilarious and strangely comforting. Sedaris is my anti-stress medicine these days. A reminder that laughter is the best medicine. Check out this book! Also recommended: Without Feathers by Woody Allen, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
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Summary: Fantastically Written
Review: <br />Once again David Sedaris outdoes himself with this witty yet poignant book. Well worth the time to read and extremely hard to put down. <br /><br />Also recommended: Nightmares Echo,If I Knew Then,Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim<br />
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Summary: Terrible
Review: An Abominable book - I have read Dress Your Family which I recommend but this thing is trash.
Rating: 
Summary: Not at his best
Review: Being a huge fan of Sedaris' laugh-out loud work, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed with Holidays on Ice. Although this collection of short stories, some fictional, some not, starts out on a great note with "The Santa Land diaries," the humor quickly dries out with "Season's Greetings," and "Christmas Means Giving." Overall, his autobiographical work is much more entertaining than the far-fetched humor he tries to convey in his fictional work.
Overall, I found this book good only as a travel companion and as a light read to get you in the mood for the holiday season. Aside from "Santa Land diaries," don't expect to be rolling with laughter, for the humor in the other stories reeks of Saturday Night Live or MadTV. However, do not be discouraged by this book if this is your first encounter with Sedaris; his other material is much more original and manifest much more shock value than can ever be found here. I would recommend starting with "Naked," or "Me Talk Pretty One Day" to avoid getting a bad first impression from his work.
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Summary: The Gift of Laughter!
Review: David Sedaris could be one of the funniest writers of our generation. His semi-autobiographical essays make me laugh out loud. Sedaris views the world through cynical, yet witty eyes. His brutal commentary on society makes one blink and then chuckle. The Santaland Diaries is one of the 6 essays in the book, and by far the best. This biographical tale of Sedaris' time as a Christmas elf in a department store is critical of himself, parents, the tiny children and Santa himself. Now made into a hit play that tours the nation, especially at Christmas, there's nothing like reading Sedaris' first hand account of slightly bored, slightly crazy out of work actors struggling to make a buck. Dinah, the Christmas Hore, is my other favorite holiday offering in this collection. This tells the story of Sedaris' sister, who brings an unexpected guest to the family's holiday celebrations. Suddenly, David sees everyone in his family in a whole new way--sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's not. In the end, David Sedaris comes through with another winning collection. Every book he writes is funny, but this one makes an especially nice holiday gift. Also with this great purchase, I would also like to recommend two other enjoyable, lesser-known books: The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, Will@epicqwest.com by Tom Grimes. I purchased both books through Amazon to avoid the bug-eyed holiday madness at the mall. Happy and safe holidays everyone!
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Summary: Marvelous
Review: David Sedaris does it again with Holidays on Ice. We learn more about his family, more about him, and why he is such a beloved memoirist.
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Summary: Excellent twist to the usual holiday fare.
Review: David Sedaris has a sick sense of humor, and he conveys it well in this book of Christmas shorts. It opens with the extremely funny "Santaland Diaries", giving an insider's view of elves at Macy's. Next comes "Season's Greetings", an overenthusiastic 'family newsletter' that spins off into satirical tangents with the unexpected addition of a Vietnamese daughter. "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" tells of young David's encounter with his father's "Christmas present" ::wink:: "Front Row with Thaddeus Bristol" is a theatrical review of the Christmas pageants in the elementary schools (we've all had to suffer). "Based on a True Story" is a somewhat sickeningly funny look at a hustler trying to gather holiday special ideas. Finally, "Christmas Means Giving" rounds out the collection, telling of two families who can't stop competing with each other. I'm a newcomer to Sedaris's wit, and the next book on my list is 'Naked'. This was a great way to be introduced without being overwhelmed--even if they are Christmas stories being read in July.
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Summary: I love you David, sorry for the three stars
Review: I have read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and Me Talk Pretty One Day. I love them both with everything in me. So, I was very excited to backtrack and read Holidays on Ice. I waited until I went to New York for Christmas and took the book with me with high hopes. I was very disappointed. I was not aware that a lot of Sedaris' early writing was simply fiction and did not really have grounding in his family or life--most of this book is like that. The stories are mildly entertaining and imaginative. They seemed even darker than usual and even more cynical than I could handle, which I found strange. David's cynical outlook framed in a humorous, matter-of-fact manner is one of the things I love about him. A couple of the entries in this book almost made me feel dirty, due to disturbing violent imagery. However, the very thing, which took it way over the top, also is what helped get the point across. I would still recommend this book for any Sedaris fan. Don't read it to get in the Christmas mood and you will be fine, come at it with the framework as a social commentary.
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Summary: most stories are a must read
Review: I have to agree with one of the other reviews, the first story about the Santaland stood out nore than the others, but I would give the story about the baby in the dryer just as much credit for being just as creative and almost as funny. This is a book that you will find yourself laughing outloud, which I have never done before until now. The best part is that it is small enough to fit in a purse and the stories are short enough to read while trying to waste time. I gave it four stars because there were a couple stories that drug on and could have been deleted and the author is very forgiving when you read another one of his right after
Rating:
Summary: Beware of thin ice
Review: Like many other people, my introduction to David Sedaris was through "The Santaland Diaries," broadcast on NPR's "This American Life" (I think). Maybe it was Sedaris's down-on-his luck history, his brooding delivery, or Ira Glass's fabulous production, but the readings (and their musical segués) were masterpieces. They captured all the ironies of the Christmas holiday -- the humiliation of grown people wearing elf costumes to bring in a few bucks; the madness of parents force-feeding reluctant children into the gaping maw of Macy's Christmas machine; the delicious naughtiness of elves cavorting behind the snowy scenery; the stinginess of the retail business to its own employees.
Now that Sedaris has become successful, his readings have lost their desperate edginess. And without Glass's sure and sensitive production, they lose their aural appeal. I'd recommend reading these stories rather than listening to audio versions.
That said, "Holiday on Ice" has a few delights that make it worth a listen. "Santaland Diaries," still has a few moments that will have you shaking your head at the lunacy of the Christmas experience. The encounters between the physically and mentally disabled with all-too-human Santas is an exercise in pathos, if not hilarity. "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" is a classic Sedaris piece, whose innocuous beginning lurches without warning into a collision between David's wacked-out family and the bizarre Southern characters that populated Sedaris's youth. For an added treat, "Dinah" is voiced by Amy Sedaris, the author's talented sister.
Other pieces don't succeed as well as these. "Based Upon A True Story" has a creepy, big-city TV exec blackmailing a "hillbilly" Christmas church audience, but seems more mean than mirthful. "Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol" -- in which a theater critic savages children's Christmas pageants -- misses the comic mark entirely. Others, like, "Season's Greeting To Our Friends and Family!" -- a loonily bitter Christmas letter from a suburban Mom hurled over the edge of sanity and civility by her husband's long-lost Vietnamese daughter -- fail to play the knife-edge that separates a piece that finds humor in discomfort from one that is plain discomfitting.
Since the publication of "Holidays on Ice," David Sedaris has proven himself as a writer of subtlety, humanity and wry humor. This uneven collection shows him on the way to discovering his voice.
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