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Loading... Me Talk Pretty One Day (original 2000; edition 2001)by David Sedaris (Author)
Work detailsMe Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (2000)
  
» 24 more Books Read in 2017 (440) Books Read in 2016 (2,006) Best books read in 2011 (120) Five star books (423) 2000s decade (42) Big tags (2) To Read (141) Alphabetical Books (106) French Books (50) Best Satire (103) No current Talk conversations about this book. In my opinion, this one is still his best. (  ) irrelephant | Feb 21, 2021 |  I am enjoying David's books, this is my second. His wit is very unique and "smart" and he pokes fun at a lot of topics and mostly himself. But there is also a thread of truth to the fun that most people would agree with but may not want to admit publically. I will most likely read a few more of his books later on. (  ) Rick686ID | Jan 27, 2021 | They say laughter is the best medicine but it seems to me the wrong kind of humour is a combination of heroin and cocaine. This book sort of falls on the latter. Most of Sedaris' "hilarious" anecdotes, a combination of self-deprecation and irritating self-indulgence (plus other dichotomies) whilst making fun of others, though served with witticism and enthusiasm fail to amuse me save for the ones that focus on dogs and his homosexuality. An honourable mention would be his funny story about singing an advertisement jingle in Billie Holiday style. Honestly, David Sedaris can come across as an ass on some parts and this reads like a diary of complaints and meanness. The kind that leaves a bad taste on one's mouth. How is that not funny? Is this because I myself am gay but not American? I wonder. But good humour should be universal humour. So now I know, Me Talk Pretty One Day can't help me in a pretty bad day. (  ) lethalmauve | Jan 25, 2021 | I always envy people who are gifted with the ability to write about mundane situations so engagingly. This is my first time reading Sedaris' book, and I'm already envious of him. He can find humor in everyday life with sometimes self-deprecating jokes. The essays are written in perfect length and most of it examines our relationship with language. We'll see his struggle to overcome his speech impediment in elementary school, learning French in a class that looks like Pepsi ads, and solving crossword puzzles. Some essays focus on him struggling to learn French when he moved to Paris. Once he understood his teacher's insult in French, he started to feel the excitement of his comprehension. But the journey of him being mastered in a language is far from over. I do feel the same joy in understanding some Korean phrases while watching KDrama without looking at its subtitle, but I can't speak or respond in Korean that well. My boyfriend always laughs whenever I mispronounced the word "jugeullae?" and says that I pronounce Korean words like an American. "Understanding doesn't mean that you can suddenly speak the language. Far from it. It's a small step, nothing more, yet its rewards are intoxicating and deceptive." There is a particular essay addressing the inequality in the city when he worked for a moving company led by Patrick, a communist who decides which job they can accept based on his belief. While working on the job, they also see how people across social strata live. "The New York skyline would appear on the horizon and we'd all stop talking. If you happen to live there, it's always refreshing to view Manhattan from afar. Up close, the city constitutes an oppressive series of staircases, but from a distance, it inspires fantasies of wealth and power so profound that even our communists are temporarily rendered speechless." I recommend this book if you want to read a light and witty memoir. It's an entertaining read that makes me want to find the humor in awkward or unfortunate situations. It will help me become more patient in overcoming the situation or what you say in Indonesian as "legowo." ( ) bellacrl | Jan 19, 2021 | If you want to laugh out loud and like peeking into the dysfunctional world of others, this book is for you. If need a structured plot and a book that has a point, you'll want to look elsewhere. I thought the book was hilarious and enjoyed reading it, but I foolishly expected his storytelling to be something other than funny short stories compiled into one book. So, just expect funny ramblings and you'll love it. (  ) pmichaud | Dec 21, 2020 |
 Whereas ''Naked'' reads like a series of overlapping autobiographical essays, this volume feels more like a collection of magazine pieces or columns on pressing matters like the care and feeding of family pets and the travails of dining in Manhattan. But if Mr. Sedaris sometimes sounds as though he were making do with leftover material, ''Talk Pretty'' still makes for diverting reading.  The gifted Sedaris has not been hard enough on himself. At the risk of sounding patronizing, I suspect there is a better writer in there than he is as yet willing to let out. This collection is, in its way, damned by its own ambitious embrace of variety; with so many pieces assembled, the stronger ones always punish the weaker... But reading or listening to David Sedaris is well worth the lulls for the thrills. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inIs abridged in
Me Talk Pretty One Day contains far more than just the funniest collection of autobiographical essays - it quite well registers as a manifesto about language itself. Wherever there's a straight line, you can be sure that Sedaris lurks beneath the text, making it jagged with laughter; and just where the fault lines fall, he sits mischievously perched at the epicenter of it all.
David Sedaris's new collection, Me Talk Pretty One Day, tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes ("There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling than that was my voice itself, with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch") and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist ("The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever") to "clearly unqualified" writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris's career leads him to New York (the sky's-the-limit field of furniture moving) and eventually, of all places, France. Sedaris's move to Paris poses a number of challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. Arriving a "spooky man-child" capable of communicating only through nouns, he undertakes language instruction that leads him ever deeper into cultural confusion. Whether describing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates, savoring movies in translation (It is Necessary to save the Soldier Ryan), or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other--"Original, acid, and wild," said the Los Angeles Times--to every unforgettable encounter."--Jacket. No library descriptions found. |
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Wikipedia in English (2)
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