Calypso

Starred review from March 19, 2018
Humorist Sedaris (Theft by Finding) collects 21 essays largely about family bonds and getting older in this hilarious yet tender volume. Facing middle age, the author purchased a beach house, which he named Sea Section, in his childhood state of North Carolina. The beach abode serves not only its intended purpose as a perfect location for family gatherings, but also ends up being a venue for arguments, jokes, and encountering local wildlife (in particular, a snapping turtle to whom Sedaris joked he’d feed a benign fatty tumor Sedaris had formed). Sedaris’s mother died of cancer in 1991 at the age of 62, but his conservative, 92-year-old father (with whom he has a difficult relationship), three sisters (a fourth committed suicide), and younger brother are frequent visitors and fodder for Sedaris’s perceptive and imaginative sense of humor; no subject seems too sacred for his wit, including his sister’s suicide (“I’ve always liked to think that before killing myself I’d take the time to really mess with people”) and the physical attractiveness of Jesus. He also riffs on topics ranging from the inane conversations people have at shops, airports, and hotels (“You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” one bellman comments) to the nasty expletives drivers scream from cars. Throughout, Sedaris reveals a deep loyalty to family, with loving reminiscences of his mother, a palpable wish to be closer to his father, and a nostalgic devotion to his siblings and their shared memories. The author’s fans and newcomers alike will be richly rewarded by this sidesplitting collection.

The latest essay collection by humorist David Sedaris humorist is a meditation on aging. It's a sardonic one at that, that he narrates himself in his quintessential tongue-in-cheek fashion. It's a good thing he does because the listener gets the sense that only Sedaris could balance the witty observations alongside the heartrending sadness of life. When his sister Tiffany is found dead five days after her suicide, for example, he doesn't look grief fully in the face but sideways, from the vantage point of a long-hoped-for beach home. Fans of Sedaris, who may well be in the middle of their own lives by now, will listen along, laughing, and perhaps wiping away a few tears. M.R. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

September 1, 2018

Sedaris's narration certainly brings his true flavor and personality to these pages. This latest work is full of the author's usual dark humor combined with a deep sense of the changes in his family; it may be his most intimate book. His observations and insights come from viewing aging, loss, and mortality as he often crosses the lines of "acceptable" behavior. A live recording of "While You're up There, Check on My Prostate" includes audiences roaring at the crudest insults about bad drivers they may never forget and his own tumor's memorable journey. The essays about a Carolina coastal beach house can resonate with summer cottage renters and are tinged with the smells of sand and suntan oil; the revelations about his late sister Tiffany and his parents are bittersweetly relatable; and listeners will enjoy accompanying the author on his Fitbit walks in airports and in Europe. VERDICT Sedaris isn't to everyone's tastes, but fans are in for plenty of laughs and some more poignant moments. Original musical interludes composed and performed by Daniel Hart are a bonus. ["[Sedaris's] honesty is compelling, and his ability to create laughter in the darkness offers readers comfort and hope": LJ 5/1/18 starred review of the Little, Brown hc.]--Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo

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