Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In "Barrel Fever" and "Naked," David Sedaris let his imagination run wild in fictional stories. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" differs from his previous collections in that he confined these writings to autobiography. Fortunately, his essays based on truth are as hilarious (though perhaps not as wildly farfetched) as those he makes up entirely. Coming from a family that includes a "tanorexic," the Rooster (the name that DS's brother calls himself), a sister that wears fat suits and cosmetic bruises, a father that hordes spoiled fruit, and a mother who fills Easter baskets with cartons of cigarettes, he has an unusually rich background to draw from. The second half of the book deals with his life as an American living in Paris. In addition to the charming misanthropy that is his trademark, these essays provide some dead-on observations of Americans by an American. One warning: avoid reading this collection in public if laughing so hard you soak yourself is something you might find at all embarrassing. David Sedaris is simply the funniest person writing today.