Holidays On Ice

Read October 2009.
Photo courtesy Amazon. 

The Scoop: A collection of short stories and personal essays by David Sedaris (US), published in 1997 by Little, Brown and Company.

The Ingredients: The collection included previously published stories/essays (the first 2 I recognized from Barrel Fever - "SantaLand Diaries" and "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!") and some new ones. All are based around the holiday season, as the title suggests. "Season's Greetings..." is a short story in the form of a Christmas letter that strays far from the norm, as Mrs. Dunbar, writing on behalf of the family, is forced to deal with some unsavory circumstances, but still tries to maintain a cheerful festive tone. "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" is a recounting of the night Sedaris (and the rest of his family) discover a new meaning to "ho, ho, ho". "Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol" is an honest review of the local school's Christmas plays/pageants. A man who works in the TV industry gives a sermon pleading the congregation for help in an ultimate heartwarming story in "Based on a True Story". Holidays on Ice ends with "Christmas Means Giving", a story that spirals into the most extreme showdown of generosity.

Serves: Adult, maybe even down to highschool-er age - there's nothing that I can remember being of extreme offense. But even though it's partially marketed as a holiday season collection of stories, it remains a grown-up book - don't sit the kiddies 'round the fireplace after the family Christmas feast and do a read-aloud with this one (note the stiff drink on the book cover).

"SantaLand Diaries": I was in a coffee shop looking through the want ads when I read, "Macy's Herald Square, the largest store in the world, has big opportunities for outgoing, fun-loving people of all shapes and sizes who want more than just a holiday job! [3.5/5]

Result: The two stories that I previously read in Barrel Fever obviously came as no surprise. I don't think I re-read them, as they were still pretty fresh in my memory. As I've mentioned, I prefer Sedaris's autobiographical essays to his fictional stories, so "Dinah" satisfied me well (double entendre not intended). The other three stories also had their own merits, and were mostly quite funny. Sedaris continues to impress me with his ability/gift to bring such unique and relatable characters to life. A nice easy read - you don't have to wait for the holidays to read it (as I chose not to do as well), but I can see how it would make one's holidays more spirited and amusing! [4/5 Prefer it to Barrel Fever in terms of material, but also theme, because I just love the winter holidays. Easy to read, sometimes tough to put down, entertaining, and witty.]

Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays

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.]