Calypso

It had been some time since I’ve read a David Sedaris book, as I thought I had grown weary of his writing, but with Calypso he has redeemed himself in my eyes—bigly. Much of his writing has always dealt with death and family, and here, with this book, he was writing with great humor and sorrow. Fans of Mr. Sedaris are used to his let-it-all-hang-out style, and here his revelations about relatives and friends are almost shocking.
On the lighter side, when David finds out that he has a benign tumor (funny already, right?), he becomes fixated on feeding it to a wild turtle, but US medical standards don’t allow for that sort of thing. In a chance encounter, someone overhears him discussing/complaining about this in El Paso, and offers show more to set him up with a near-doctor in Mexico who will have no qualms about giving David the remains of his tumor. Whatever could be a problem with that? All goes well, right up to the point when the turtle has disappeared … and the tumor ends up in the freezer
The story that moved me the most was the one about the death of his sister Tiffany. She was a deeply troubled woman who had her problems with drugs. The very last time David saw her was when she came to one of his speaking appearances, where he saw here at the stage door, wasted on drugs. Believing that he couldn’t really help her, he closed the door in his sister’s face. As powerful as this scene was, Sedaris has his reader laughing as well.
There was a tradition in the Sedaris family of getting a house on the Carolina coast, and gathering all the family together there each year. When the mother (the organizer) dies, Davis and his partner Hugh take on the coordinating, and eventually even purchase a house there. The dynamics of a family on vacation together are always fascinating, and with the Sedaris family it thoroughly entertaining.
I felt that David let his guard down a little more than normal with this collection. There seemed to be more revealed about the family’s dynamics, and that combined with the starkness of Tiffany’s story and death, makes this collection a little darker than his others. It also feels closer to a very funny man’s heart.

In a New York Times review, Alan Cunning said of the book, “Death and family are what this book is all about. Maybe what all Davis Sedaris’s work is about?” show less

If you are not familiar with David Sedaris's writing, please do me a favor and stop reading this review. Do yourself a favor and run out and buy yourself a copy of any one of his books. Really. Any book Sedaris has written would be good. It really doesn't matter with which one you start your introduction.
But probably the best way to experience Sedaris is to hear him read his own work. He has a comedic timing that is impeccably smart. Coupled this with his sarcastic wit and he will have you laughing and crying at the same time. I don't know how he makes feeding a defrosted human tumor (his own) to a snapping turtle funny, or his mother's alcoholism, or his sister's suicide but really truly, he does. You find yourself in awe of how he show more chooses to see each situation. That viewpoint translates into a keen sense of the bigger picture and the world around him. From fashion from Japan to trash picking in England, Sedaris invites you to never see life the same way again. show less

I have somewhat variable feelings about David Sedaris. Occasionally, I find him slightly annoying or silly. Often, I find him really astute and funny. There is a little bit of that first thing in here, including a piece about phrases he hates that kind of made me roll my eyes and some stuff about clothes shopping that feels just a little too "look how quirky I am!" But there's some of the second thing, too: a hilarious bit about cursing in various countries, for instance, and a painfully funny piece on Donald Trump.

Much of this collection, though, is something else entirely, a surprisingly effective blend of the irreverently humorous and the deeply poignant, as he talks about things like spending time at a beach house with his family show more shortly after his estranged sister's suicide, his relationship with his beloved mother that included never mentioning her alcoholism, and the worrying experience of watching his father age.

I may have laughed a number of times while reading it, but in the end I'm left feeling genuinely kind of sad. But the right kind of sad, I think. show less

One of my favorites:

“”What do you say when someone cuts you off in traffic?' I asked a woman whose book I was signing in Copenhagen.
'We're not big on cursing,' she told me, so the worst we're liable to come out with – and it's pretty common – is 'Why don't you run around in my ass?' ….
I'd asked the same question in Amsterdam, and learned that in the Netherlands, you're more apt to bring a disease into it. Like if someone drives in a crazy way, it's normal to call them a typhoid sufferer, a Dutch woman told me. Or a cancer whore.
'I'd never thought of stitching those two words together ….
(When David asked whether someone would say, diabetes whore) 'She looked at me as if I were missing out on something so fundamental, it show more was a wonder I could dress myself in the morning. “Diabetes whore,” she replied, “No! It has to be terminal.”
“AIDS whore?”
“No! Oh, those poor people.” 'p 240/241

Sedaris's humor is a bit hit or miss with me. Sometimes, I laugh out loud, but sometimes it makes me so uncomfortable or sad that I can't see the humor of admittedly absurd situations.

This describes the sadness I felt about his father growing older, becoming less independent, living in his house which is becoming more and more crowded with useless objects and 'just forgetting to die.”

I know that many people see only the sheer absurdist humor in Sedaris's work. I'll continue to pick up his books – they work exceptionally well in the car as audiobooks with Sedaris reading his own work. But, at this time, he won't cross into my 'favorite authors' list', although some of the individual stories are definitely favorites. show less

I'm new to David Sedaris and despite being well aware of his many books and essay collections, this is the first time I've dipped a toe into his literary ouevre, and let me tell you, this guy makes me laugh! Calypso is a collection of essays published in June 2018 and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him narrate the audiobook.

Sedaris is a humourist (which I've learned is different to a comedian) and he shares his observational humour and revelations of varying degrees of importance about a range of topics, but largely including his family, upbringing with five siblings, ageing of his parents (and himself), and comments on society.

I loved the quirky family jokes and insights and each essay is delivered in an intelligent, yet self show more deprecating and insightful way that often made me laugh out loud or chuckle to myself. His wry sense of humour certainly isn't for everyone, and I was only too aware of Sedaris' white privilege shining through in many of his stories. That said, Sedaris seems to be extremely self aware in a way that made it easy for me to let this go and just enjoy the ride. Besides, who can hate on a guy for his white male privilege when his hobby is picking up litter by the side of the road.

There were many moments I stopped to repeat a phrase or enjoy a sentence again, like this one from half way through the book.

"There was never any problem making conversation with my mother. That was effortless. The topics springing from nowhere, and we'd move from one to the next in a way that made me think of a monkey gracefully swinging through the branches of a tree." Chapter 11, 3 hours and 20 minutes remaining

Employing a droll sense of humour and acerbic wit, Sedaris successfully maintains the balance between serious topics, like the death of his sister by suicide, to lighter moments like toilet troubles or the engagements he has with readers in the signing line of his shows. (I'd love to see him perform live if he comes back to Melbourne).

I enjoyed Calypso by David Sedaris so much that I've decided to go back to some of his earlier work and continue listening. Have you read any David Sedaris, seen him on talk shows or even perform live? Do you enjoy his sense of humour? If so, I'd love to hear about it. In the meantime, I recommend his work with caution. I don't know if I'd have enjoyed Calypso quite so much if I'd read his work instead of listening to it, and his humour is an acquired taste. But I can't get enough, so take from that what you will. show less

David Sedaris gets me and I get David Sedaris. Reading pretty much any of his short stories fills me with a sense of being seen, of finding the other freaks in a sea of normality... It feels like finding the mothership.

Calypso is no different. Here Sedaris peeks behind the doors to middle age with all of its humiliations and triumphs. He navigates heartbreak, awkwardness, family, aging, relationships, hopes and regrets with his inimitable humour. He has a magical way of remaining steadfastly cynical as fuck while still preserving a strong sense of compassion.

David Sedaris returns with his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious book. If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very show more funny--it's a book that can make you laugh 'til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris's powers of observation have never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future. This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumor joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris's darkest and warmest book yet--and it just might be his very best. show less