David Sedaris
Author of Me Talk Pretty One Day
About the Author
David Sedaris was born in Binghamton, New York on December 26, 1956, but he grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Much of Sedaris' humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating, and it often concerns his family life, his middle class upbringing in the suburbs of North Carolina. He graduated from the show more Art Institute of Chicago in 1987. He is a popular radio commentator, essayist, and short story writer. He held many part-time and odd jobs before getting a job reading excerpts from his diaries on National Public Radio in 1992. His first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, was published in 1994. His other works include Naked, Holidays on Ice, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002), and Calypso. Me Talk Pretty One Day won the Thurber Prize for American Humor in 2001. He has also written several plays with his sister Amy Sedaris including Stump the Host, Stitches, and The Little Frieda Mysteries. In 2014 her title, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by David Sedaris
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (2005) — Editor; Introduction — 1,296 copies, 16 reviews
Rooster at the Hitchin' Post {essay} 2 copies
Meet David Sedaris, Series 1 2 copies
Letting Go [memoir/essay] 2 copies
Farm #4: Farm Boys 1 copy
Jesus Shaves {essay} 1 copy
Me Talk Pretty One Day / Naked / Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim / When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2003) 1 copy
[Title missing] 1 copy
Associated Works
The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to The Onion (2011) — Contributor — 286 copies, 3 reviews
Not So Funny When It Happened: The Best of Travel Humor and Misadventure (2000) — Contributor — 244 copies, 7 reviews
Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present (2007) — Contributor — 219 copies, 3 reviews
This Is My Best: Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work (2004) — Contributor — 175 copies, 3 reviews
Funny Times: A Monthly Newspaper of Humor, Politics & Fun, Volume 16, Issue 2 (2001) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Sedaris, David Raymond
- Birthdate
- 1956-12-26
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Kent State University
Art Institute of Chicago (BA|1987) - Occupations
- writer
- Organizations
- New Yorker
NPR - Awards and honors
- Honorary Doctorate (Binghamton University, 2008)
American Academy of Arts and Letters (2019)
Terry Southern Prize for Humor (2018)
Thurber Prize for American Humor (2001)
Jonathan Swift – Internationaler Literaturpreis für Satire und Humor (2019)
Time Humorist of the Year Award (2001) (show all 7)
American Academy of Arts and Letters Medal for Spoken Language (2018) - Agent
- Steven Barclay Agency
- Relationships
- Sedaris, Amy (sister)
Hamrick, Hugh (partner) - Short biography
- David Raymond Sedaris (born December 26, 1956) is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries". He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. He is the brother and writing collaborator of actor Amy Sedaris.
Much of Sedaris's humor is ostensibly autobiographical and self-deprecating and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, his Greek heritage, homosexuality, jobs, education, drug use, and obsessive behaviors, and his life in France, London, and the English South Downs - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Johnson City, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
New York, New York, USA
Paris, Île-de-France, France
London, Middlesex, England, UK
Rackham, West Sussex, England, UK - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Sadder and sweeter than what came before, but still very funny. In this book Sedaris addresses the physical decline and eventual death of his father Lou who was not a good parent or a good person. No one talks about mourning a parent who one loves but does not like, and I was so moved and amused by this material. Sedaris also talks about his sister Tiffany, her sexual abuse allegations, addictions, and death by suicide. This is some heavy stuff and there is humor in there, but often not show more much. For me this was not a problem, but obviously different from most of his books. Add to that Trump, pandemic, natural disasters, school shootings, etc, and you will know you should expect a more introspective and solemn book than is his usual. The funniest parts of the book are those where he is with his sister Amy. They are hilarious together and I laughed along with these stories, even those stories where many not funny things happen. It was also fun to read more about Hugh, who is a presence in earlier books, but who is painted more vividly here than I have seen.
I am a fan of this one. I wavered between a 4 and a 5 here. There are a couple essays where Sedaris was really nasty and ungenerous in talking about the people he meets along the way, and where there was no punchline. Occasionally this was uncomfortable, and not illuminating or entertaining. I was also appalled by his joking about holding dinner parties in NYC during the lockdown. Of course he is selfish, always, that is part of the schtick, but there is selfish and there is fiddling while Rome burns. It is hard to like a man who believes his desire to dine with friends is more important than the health and safety of medical professionals at the hospital across the street from his apartment, Still these stories were the exception to the rule but it was enough to take a star. show less
I am a fan of this one. I wavered between a 4 and a 5 here. There are a couple essays where Sedaris was really nasty and ungenerous in talking about the people he meets along the way, and where there was no punchline. Occasionally this was uncomfortable, and not illuminating or entertaining. I was also appalled by his joking about holding dinner parties in NYC during the lockdown. Of course he is selfish, always, that is part of the schtick, but there is selfish and there is fiddling while Rome burns. It is hard to like a man who believes his desire to dine with friends is more important than the health and safety of medical professionals at the hospital across the street from his apartment, Still these stories were the exception to the rule but it was enough to take a star. show less
I almost didn’t get this book. I really like Sedaris and I don’t think I’ve ever read anything I didn’t nigh-on love. But why would I care about snippets from his diaries. Well, walking into a book store (yes, they are still out there – real, live, brick-and-mortar bookstores – and there is nothing quite so wonderful in the world) I saw it and, in a book-buying frenzy, went ahead and bought it.
Good choice.
Why, you might ask, would you care about snippets when we have so many show more wonderful David Sedaris essays? Because, I would answer, snippets of David Sedaris are just as good, entertaining, funny, thoughtful, and insightful as the essays.
These diaries chronicle Sedaris’ rise without actually emphasizing that rise. It shows his life as it is being led – no particular foreshadowing, no begging for sympathy of a hard life lived, no preconceived anything. Just interesting and fascinating things that happen around a person’s life. (if no other lesson is learned by the reader, it should be that we all need to pay more attention to the weird and interesting things going on around us that we just flat miss.) The contents show the struggling artist become the struggling literary star. But none of it is called out; again, it is just a life being lived.
Oh yea, the voyage is interesting and entertaining. There are insights into Sedaris’ life, but you also see the observational skills that make his writing so successful.
I don’t know that anyone should start their plunge into David Sedaris with this collection (I’d say Santaland Diaries is the place for that), but for those who understand they are reading something special when they read Sedaris’ work (the neophyte or the long-time fans like myself) this is a fun trip. show less
Good choice.
Why, you might ask, would you care about snippets when we have so many show more wonderful David Sedaris essays? Because, I would answer, snippets of David Sedaris are just as good, entertaining, funny, thoughtful, and insightful as the essays.
These diaries chronicle Sedaris’ rise without actually emphasizing that rise. It shows his life as it is being led – no particular foreshadowing, no begging for sympathy of a hard life lived, no preconceived anything. Just interesting and fascinating things that happen around a person’s life. (if no other lesson is learned by the reader, it should be that we all need to pay more attention to the weird and interesting things going on around us that we just flat miss.) The contents show the struggling artist become the struggling literary star. But none of it is called out; again, it is just a life being lived.
Oh yea, the voyage is interesting and entertaining. There are insights into Sedaris’ life, but you also see the observational skills that make his writing so successful.
I don’t know that anyone should start their plunge into David Sedaris with this collection (I’d say Santaland Diaries is the place for that), but for those who understand they are reading something special when they read Sedaris’ work (the neophyte or the long-time fans like myself) this is a fun trip. show less
CW: SA, suicide, CSA, CP, incest, animal cruelty, fatphobia, body shaming
For the first third, the book is classic Sedaris. The stories are thoughtful, sometimes dark, and effortlessly hilarious. This book is really dark, a lot like Calypso.
This book revolves largely around his father’s declining health and eventual death. At first, Sedaris examines the positive experiences his siblings shared around their father’s last days. Towards the end of the book, however, he reveals show more extraordinarily traumatic details about their childhood so casually I wish I’d been prepared.
Their parents were physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive. Sedaris explains Tiffany started accusing their father of sexual abuse for years before she had committed suicide. He admits that he and his siblings never believed her, for a variety of reasons, despite sharing myriad stories of their father acting inappropriately throughout their childhood. They’re the fervent supporters of Woody Allen, where Tiffany is like Dylan, but if no one on earth ever listened.
Sedaris shares stories of his life with Hugh, their numerous homes. He talks about his relationship with Amy and their nonchalant almost accidental participation in BLM protests. He talks about his own health scares and how he goes to Paris to go to the dentist every year. Throughout the book, Sedaris is so actively aware of his privileges, as he often tries to be. It just isn’t funny anymore. show less
For the first third, the book is classic Sedaris. The stories are thoughtful, sometimes dark, and effortlessly hilarious. This book is really dark, a lot like Calypso.
This book revolves largely around his father’s declining health and eventual death. At first, Sedaris examines the positive experiences his siblings shared around their father’s last days. Towards the end of the book, however, he reveals show more extraordinarily traumatic details about their childhood so casually I wish I’d been prepared.
Their parents were physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive. Sedaris explains Tiffany started accusing their father of sexual abuse for years before she had committed suicide. He admits that he and his siblings never believed her, for a variety of reasons, despite sharing myriad stories of their father acting inappropriately throughout their childhood. They’re the fervent supporters of Woody Allen, where Tiffany is like Dylan, but if no one on earth ever listened.
Sedaris shares stories of his life with Hugh, their numerous homes. He talks about his relationship with Amy and their nonchalant almost accidental participation in BLM protests. He talks about his own health scares and how he goes to Paris to go to the dentist every year. Throughout the book, Sedaris is so actively aware of his privileges, as he often tries to be. It just isn’t funny anymore. show less
I certainly didn't expect this to be the happier follow-up to [b:Calypso|38348476|Calypso|David Sedaris|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624745123l/38348476._SY75_.jpg|57338398], which was almost devastatingly melancholy. In retrospect, it makes sense that a book about the death of a father, with whom Sedaris clearly had a more challenged relationship would be more matter-of-fact than one about the death of his dearly beloved mother.
But in any case, show more Sedaris seems to have reached a new plane of happiness, being both as funny as ever, and also past a lot of the smaller concerns of his previous essays. It feels weird that a book that is mostly explicitly about what is likely to be the two hardest years of most peoples' lives, is also a feel-good story in its overall arc, but whereas aforementioned Calypso left me feeling more sad than happy, this feels like an endorsement of hope, which isn't something I expected to gain from a Sedaris book. show less
But in any case, show more Sedaris seems to have reached a new plane of happiness, being both as funny as ever, and also past a lot of the smaller concerns of his previous essays. It feels weird that a book that is mostly explicitly about what is likely to be the two hardest years of most peoples' lives, is also a feel-good story in its overall arc, but whereas aforementioned Calypso left me feeling more sad than happy, this feels like an endorsement of hope, which isn't something I expected to gain from a Sedaris book. show less
Lists
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Christmas Books (1)
Phoebe Bridgers (1)
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Read (1)
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2000s decade (1)
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1990s (2)
To Read (3)
Unread books (3)
100 New Classics (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 62
- Also by
- 32
- Members
- 92,103
- Popularity
- #101
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 1,993
- ISBNs
- 478
- Languages
- 23
- Favorited
- 583
