Calypso
Ratings132
Average rating4.1
Sedaris loses one rating star for not enough original material. Half of these essays were published in The New Yorker over the past few years.
Though I normally like to listen to the audio version so he can tell me his stories, I grabbed Liz's library copy before she returned it, but then had to keep interrupting her while reading to ask, “Where have we read this before?” There are a few of the stories that I know I've already read word for word and many that feel very deja vu, enough that I kept checking the copyright date to see if this was somehow an older work that I was accidentally re-reading. Even with that, he still lands a few perfect laugh-out-loud and need-to-repeat-them lines, but maybe now I've reached peak Sedaris saturation.
Absolutely wonderful, but then I'm a fan so I would say that. And I do think that being a fan of his other works, or at least having read them, is important with this book; it is another layer of his family's relationships and without the previous books you just won't get it, all the weirdo-technicolor-vibrancy. As a first David Sedaris book it will be entertaining, but if it's your second-third-eighth then it will knock you on your ass. Highly recommend.
There was not a story in this book that wasn't simultaneously gut-wrenching and laugh out loud hilarious—and that's quite a feat.
I love all of David's books and this is no exception. I listened to the audiobook with my wife and hearing the book in the author's own voice is awesome. Recommended if you want a humorous glimpse into the author's life.
Sedaris is funny, poignant, and surprisingly thoughtful about death and aging. And: you know how we all have those quick thoughts sometimes that are harsh and judgey, and we don't say them? Sedaris has a way of conveying them in writing that feels relatable instead of terrible. Great collection of short stories.
I finally got around to reading this–I think I'd gotten a little burned on David Sedaris but this felt like a return to form, or maybe an evolution? More raw emotion than I'm used to from David Sedaris but still screamingly funny at times.
Some parts I skipped because I have no desire to read about grown men pooping their pants, but generally I enjoyed it. Funny and authentic.
Enjoyed this one. If you haven't ever read Sedaris then you should get the audio book. Hearing David Sedaris read his own writing is the best way to enjoy his novels.
This has become my new favorite collection of Sedaris essays. I loved it. Listened to it on audio and read some. The audio is always my favorite way to experience these stories, but alas, I am just not taking long enough car trips.
Somehow I couldn't really connect with all those stories. Some of them were witty and describing/exploring human nature, but I never felt like they are particularly brilliant or funny (that's what I hard all over the place from people who read it).
I enjoyed the first half of this book but tired of it a little after that. However he seems like a fun person and I intend to look for more of his books.