Me Talk Pretty One Day

"Sedaris writes a combination of fantastical fables and highly autobiographical stories. All are told with the same brio and irreverent energy, but the realist tales are deeply poignant in their conclusions and subject matter. If you’ve never come across his work before, I’d recommend starting with this 2000 collection, which features some of his very best work. The title story discusses Sedaris’s experiences at a French language school as he grapples with the complexities of grammar and largely fails to express himself in a new tongue. But the real humour comes from the quirks of his fellow students (including an Argentinian who, when asked to explain his hobbies to the class in French, hazards at “making sex with the women of the world”) and the “sadistic” tutor who seems to enjoy cutting her clumsy wordsmiths down to size. (“Oh yeah?” she says to a Yugoslavian who claims to love everything life has to offer, “And do you love your little war?”) This collection also features two more of my firm favourites, ‘The Youth in Asia’ (a review of his family’s pet-owning history, which is both hilarious and deeply melancholy) and ‘Go Carolina’ (a recounting of childhood speech therapy for a lisp). Sedaris first made his name writing for the radio show This American Life and his stories are still, I think, appreciated to their best advantage in audio. I can’t now read his work without hearing his wry intonation and perfect comic timing. So do I suggest you try the audiobook, which is read by the author. Also recommended: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris"

"He is a very funny writer. As a stand-up comedian I feel I am a stronger performer than writer. Having done this for 12 years my writing has gotten stronger as well. But I have always been impressed by people who can make you laugh just with their writing – things where you can just read it and laugh. Because with performing you can make things funny by the way you perform them, but to write funny is a talent and Sedaris has got it. I remember picking up this book, and I then started buying all his books because it is amazing how funny he makes these short stories about himself. He’s not a stand-up comedian or anything like that, but his stories are hilarious. One story that comes to mind is when he took a job one Christmas at Macy’s where he was a Christmas elf for Santa Claus. The way he tells the story is truly hilarious – I can’t do it justice, you just have to read it! A bigger lesson to take from this book and Sedaris’s writing is how he sees the comedy in every situation. My whole life I have tried to see comedy in any circumstance. You read his stories and see the things that are happening to him. And if you view the world as glass half empty you might not see the comedy of it, but he does. I think that is an important thing to have in life."