Read October 2009.Photo courtesy Barnes & Noble.
The Scoop: Written by David Sedaris (US) and published by Little, Brown and Company in 1994. Chosen as one of the Village Voice Literary Supplement's "Favorite Books of the Year" and a national bestseller.
The Ingredients: A 2-section book, with the first section consisting of 12 short fiction pieces, and the second, four autobiographical essays. The last essay, entitled "Santaland Diaries", is about Sedaris' stint as an elf at Macy's in New York, and is the essay that earned him attention and fame when he read it on NPR's Morning Edition in 1992.
Serves: Mature (adult) audience. Very intense language and strong direct references to homosexuality and sexual acts.
[Chapter 1] Parade: I was on "Oprah" a while ago, talking about how I used to love too much. [3.5/5]
Result: I dived in with expectations based on Me Talk Pretty One Day, and I was very misguided in doing so. I was expecting the same purely autobiographical format and didn't realize it starts with fictional short stories. Some of the stories were rather disturbing/raunchy, which somewhat detracts from all the rest. No matter what the storyline though, it is still very well-written - each story and essay characterized with really on-point detail, unique and interesting characters/people, and Sedaris' unquestionable sharp and wry humor. I definitely enjoyed the autobiographical essays more (unfortunate that there are only 4) because his humor is so much more honest and natural and seems effortless (he is talking about his own feelings/experiences after all). I was purely caught off guard by the fiction, though Sedaris still does create crazy complex characters that are honest in their own right, and it just didn't seem right to me. I'd much rather read more of his twisted and amusing recounts of events in his own life. [3.5/5 All in all, I'm not sure that I'd read Barrel Fever again, but there's no doubting Sedaris' skill at his craft. I still enjoyed most of the material overall, and I'd recommend it for even "SantaLand Diaries" alone. Not as relaxing and easy a read as Me Talk Pretty One Day.]
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