I expected a lot of Sedaris based on recommendations from friends. I have not read his other work, so perhaps 'I don't get it'...but I actually do get it. The author and I have a similar sense of humour, and I greatly respect his satire and irony.

This book is just so bloody uneven that I can't rate it more than 3 stars. It's a collection of short essays/stories and the parts I loved - I mean, I LOVED. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments in here. There is some genuinely sharp critique buried in these stories.

There are some that are so heavy-handed that I'd like to smack him with his own book. The parts where he assumes different characters go past the satire line and become overwhelmingly not funny.

There's also something about the tone in this book that struck me as off. For someone with a reputation such as his, some of the writing comes off as he's just plain tired of the whole thing. I don't know how to better describe it, but in certain spots, I questioned why he wrote the book, and not in the ironic oh-my-life kind of author voice (which is clearly evident elsewhere). At times his voice just seems...off.

There are parts that are also inappropriately funny, but funny nonetheless, and you WILL sheepishly grin and pretend like it wasn't really funny, but I know you're lying. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.

Overall, the parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed and I would absolutely pick up another of his books. The parts I didn't - I really didn't, but that won't stop me, because when he's good, he's REALLY good.

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Created Dec 06, 2018 at 8:51pm • Submit your own review...