This is really true of Sedaris. His voice (his actual speaking tone) really brings his voice (on the page) to a much funnier level. I guess that’s at least partially because of how bone dry his sense of humor can be - easy to miss in print but howlingly funny out loud.
Anyone unfamiliar with him can start with the “Six To Eight Black Men” short that’s mentioned upthread. It’s, ah, not as racist as the title sounds.
I’ve listened to every David Sedaris audiobook, and loved them all, albeit some more than others.
I think live or audiobook is the best way to enjoy Sedaris. He has a dry delivery and impeccable timing that really works with his material. At the very leatm you should listen to an audioboom before reading him somyou can hear his voice in your head while reading.
I just got my ticket to see him live in Santa Cruz. I’ve listened to most of his audiobooks, so I’m looking forward to seeing him for the first time.
Be careful not to have the volume too loud when listening to audiobooms.
Sedaris is very funny, but his older books are better than the newer stuff. It is hard to beat some of the stories in Dress Your Family, Me Talk Pretty or Engulfed in Flames. I have not seen him live but would do so.
The story about his father eating ancient food is one of the funniest things I’ve read.
I’ve been a big fan for years, but didn’t much like “Owls” and “Theft.” I found them a bit schticky and repetitive.
But his earlier stuff is amazingly funny.
David Sedaris loves being rich and would enjoy telling you how much his shirt cost: http://time.com/money/5287035/david-sedaris-interview-calypso-money/
He really comes off as quite the jerk in that interview.
mmm
Inspired by this thread, I’ve been listening to a lot of his interviews on YouTube. The Fresh Air (NPR) chat with Terri Gross is insightful… and fun.
Just finished another of his audiobooks. I think I’ve listened to all of them now. Very funny.
I think he seems more giddy than jerky. Having been pretty poor early in his career, he’s on top of the world now and still seems not quite able to believe his good fortune.
I suppose, but I think he used poor judgement in his choice of words.
His fans - who likely slog through their work week like most everyone else - are not going to be thrilled to read this:
mmm
Doesn’t put me off, it’s so perfectly Sedaris
I liked some of the stories in “Me Talk Pretty One Day” because I can appreciate trying to communicate in broken French. I didn’t think the Santaland stories were particularly funny, though. In general, if I’m listening to “This American Life” on the computer, I’ll skip over his segments.
Here it is - 15 minutes long, and very funny: Commencement Address 2018: David Sedaris on Vimeo
Got around to reading Calypso. Not too bad, certainly a bit step up from the last couple books.
There are a few places where he is indeed wealth-bragging. Why bring up vacationing in Hawaii when that part wasn’t germane to the story? But it isn’t so common that it’s a real problem.
One issue many people have with David Sedaris is he “enhances” his stories. The Santaland one in particular is apparently well off from what actually happened.
In one story in Calypso he talks about how his mother told great stories that evolved over time to be better. She even taught the kids how to improve their story telling.
This explains a lot. He doesn’t see that telling the actual facts as being relevant.
When I first started reading his stuff I detected that he was hiding what a dysfunctional family he grew up in. In this book it’s pretty much all out in the open. And that makes things better.
Bumped.
A nice profile of his longtime boyfriend, Hugh Hamrick:
Thanks for sharing that. I enjoyed reading it. They sound like the perfect odd couple, now that I have gotten Hugh’s perspective on it.
Saw him here in his hometown of Raleigh. He was good. We bought at last minute and ended up in 2nd row. there was one dumb question “Do you stay in hotel or with parents/friends here?” he said in a hotel. He mentioned his father was there and I assume his local brother too. He comes here for every book and goes to a theater rather than a bookstore since he’s so popular.
For your snarky holiday enjoyment:
I actually had the opportunity to see David Sedaris when I was a freshman in college (I went to college in Raleigh, so he was a bit of a local celebrity I guess). That would have been 1998 or 99. At the time I wasn’t familiar with his work, so when I read the description of the event – an essayist known for his appearances on NPR, I went “eh, that sounds boring”, and didn’t go. Then afterwards other students who did see him raved about how hilarious he was. And a few years later I started listening to NPR regularly and heard his stories on This American Life. And I spent the next decade and a half regretting not seeing him when I had the chance.
So when he came to my area in 2013, I jumped at the chance to see him. I am glad I did. And I still regret not seeing him 20 something years ago.