I have not read a whole lot of David Sedaris. I know of him as the national treasure that he is, but I didn't really know what I was missing until my husband made me watch him on one of the recent late night shows. So when we had a road trip on our agenda we decided to give it a listen and were absolutely delighted. I don't think that we have laughed so hard while in the car.
With decades of summer vacations along the Carolina Coast under his belt summer David Sedaris purchases a summer home to serve as a base for his siblings and their families during the summer and all other holidays. His observations about his family, his partner, and summer memories from long ago are both hysterical and insightful. The way he describes something as simple as running into a neighbor with a dog is almost genius. He is describing his sister when he says something like "She was using the lyrical voice that she reserved for anything with a tail." The description stuck with me because it perfectly describes our daughter whenever she encounters any animal. He also goes into detail his obsessive experience with his Fitbit. And that I can get. There may be some people out there who think that I am that obsessive about my steps.
But Sedaris also tackles some less than humorous topics like his sister's suicide and his mother's alcoholism. Even with such hard-hitting topics, he writes about them with his trademark humor. I was a little shocked that such topics were covered, but he does write about them with brutal honesty.
Bottom Line - I get it. I finally get why David Sedaris can sell out theaters all over the world. He has this self-deprecating way of making you feel like the story he is telling could be yours. His quirky demeanor makes him feel like an eccentric, yet completely lovable, uncle or neighbor. I will definitely be reading more by David Sedaris and sooner rather than later.
Details:
- Calypso by David Sedaris
- On Facebook
- Pages: 272
- Publisher: Little, Brown, and Co
- Publication Date: 5/29/18
- Buy it Here!
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