I had to give this a 5 star review because Sedaris makes me laugh out loud. Everyone will think you're a nut while you're reading this because you will be unable to stifle your snickers. His character is so twisted that I can't believe he's talking about himself! I refuse to swallow that those stories are even half-way true. Not all of the stories are funny but there are plenty of laughs in this book. I'll read anything he wants to write!

I once saw a very ordinary, unassuming,seemingly meek fellow appear as a guest on David Letterman. I stopped to listen to this mild-mannered gentleman for a few minutes only to find myself laughing harder and louder than I can remember in recent history. I predict I will own a copy of every book this man ever writes. In this troubled world, we all need to laugh as much as we need to eat, and Sedaris provides a banquet. He is truly gifted beyond words.

This is one of the funniest books I've ever read. The best part is the essay "Santaland Diaries," about Sedaris' experience as an elf at Macy's. I read it out loud to my mother in the car and we couldn't stop laughing. The short stories are excellent too, especially "The Last You'll Hear from Me." If you like this, you should also read "Naked," Sedaris' memoir; it's even better.

Naked is my first book by David Sedaris and I was pleasantly surprised at how funny he is. His wit and humor provide many laugh out loud moments. In this series of essays, we learn about some of the author's trials from childhood through adulthood. He handles some pretty deep issues with a sense of humor, keeping them light and entertaining. In the end I found I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the latter half. His interaction with his mother and other members of the family, while somewhat dysfunctional, also manages to be touching and funny. As he moves into his teen years and becomes adventurous, we learn of his exploits in the art of hitchhiking and vacationing at a nudist colony. This book does have a lot of "bathroom" humor, so I wouldn't reccommend it for the easily offended reader. I have heard that Me Talk Pretty One Day is his finest yet, so will definitely read that one.

This book is classified as a memoir, and it's the funniest one I've read to date. Growing up Greek in North Carolina couldn't have been easy, but adding to the mix a crazy grandmother and a sibling with a penchant for using towels as toilet paper makes it that much harder (and funnier, to us).

David was struck with enthusiastic OCD as a child, only to find ways to "cure" his tics in college. His stories of life after schooling include apple-picking and packing, working with jade (not to mention a crazy, hypocritical Christian), and refinishing woodwork with a Jew-hating Lithuanian and a somewhat confused black guy. He hitchhikes with all levels of human decapitation until a rowdy truck driver combs thicket by the roadside looking for him.

Not all of the fifteen stories are side-splitting funny. "I Like Guys" highlights accepting his homosexual feelings, and an undercurrent of seriousness lines the story. "Ashes" tells of his mother's cancer, and a sense of tragedy seems to sober his usually razor-sharp satirical style.

The last (and title) story, "Naked", tells of his experience with a nudist colony. It's written in more a journal form (the others are written in a 'flashback' form) and by the end, you feel strange in your own clothing.

I definitely plan on recommending this book to my friends. I don't see how you could live your life without picking up a Sedaris book.

Sedaris is a satirist with a tongue-in-cheek approach to just about all life's experiences. In this collection of seventeen autobiographical essays, the author takes us through a wild ride of unbelievable escapades and events in his life. From his compulsive disorders through a series of jobs, hitchhiking ventures, friendship with a prostitute, to a jaunt in a nudist camp, Sadaris tells it all.

If you prefer a dry, refined literary experience, this book is going to shock the socks off you! It is a unique educational experience, but definitely not in any academic sense. This book is pure light-hearted reading, with a unique style of humour and wit that makes for straight forward, insanely hilarious reading. "Naked" is bound to produce a chuckle or two from even the most serious, staunch, intellectual reader. Read it, just for the fun of it.... because life is short and laughing is good for you!

I don't care one whit for any intellectual or comparative examination of the content of this book, all I know is that I was laughing and shaking my head at the joy and discovery of what he can say and how he says it. Amazingly, he does it out of nothing: his subjects include elementary school, living in New York, family (whose banality he venerates), bad jobs, learning French, all commonplace but he re-visits them from a wonderfully skewed perspective and makes everything we've got in common seem funny, fantastic and sometimes deeply touching.

The person who can write a book that makes the reader laugh out loud and feel that he/she has lived, or could have lived, the same experience is very special indeed. David Sedaris is a real star. Just like certain stage actors in their prime, his charisma and talent draw the participant into feeling a deep relationship with him. I finished this book feeling a lot of humanity and other corny stuff too simple and sweet to spoil by giving them names.

My sister recommended this book to me, after she warned me, "It's a bit warped, because I dropped it in the bathtub when I was laughing so hard"! ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY is a collection of David Sedaris' autobiographical short stories, which describe his childhood speech problems, his father's obsession with forming a jazz band with his progeny, his move to Paris with his boyfriend, and his attempts to master the art of speaking French while living in France.

I've been looking for years for an heir to James Thurber -- someone whose mastery of observation excels at describing everyday incidents without stripping away their intrinsically bizarre nature. I'm pleased to find this heir in David Sedaris, whose short stories are nakedly honest and touchingly fresh. Sedaris shares things which most of us would not even write in our own private diaries, such as, "Because I am both a glutton and a masochist, my standard complaint, 'That was so bad,' is always followed by 'And there was so little of it!'"

My favorite stories were "Jesus Shaves", in which Sedaris attempts to explain American Easter holiday traditions in broken French to many foreign students (and one sadistic teacher) in his French class, and "Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities", in which Sedaris takes guitar lessons from a midget as part of his father's dream of creating a family jazz band.

If you love humor that's as sublime as it is surreal, you'll love ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY. Sedaris and his book may be "a bit warped," but it just doesn't get any better than this!

I wouldn't have believed that David Sedaris could get any funnier, but he has. With "Me Talk Pretty One Day," Sedaris strolls down something of an autobiographical lane. The title story refers to his efforts to learn French in a language class in France (he has inconveniently neglected to learn French before having moved to France with his lover). From his beginnings as a performance artist (one of his friends specialized in a performance piece that involved the artist being shot in the shoulder with a rifle), Sedaris moves on to moving (see the scathing summations of all the folks he's ever had the bad luck to move, including the woman who had not bothered to pack up a single item before the movers arrived) and other things. Sometimes he takes a side trip, as when he goes home to visit his father and his sister Amy happens to be there as well. Amy, who hasn't been home in some time, decides to wear a fat suit the entire weekend. The effect of the fat suit on Mr. Sedaris is mind-bogglingly funny--he spends the entire weekend trying subtly to get her to eat less, to go out for a quick run--anything to get her to lose weight. But the best thing by far has to be the classroom full of sundry nationalities, all trying in their crippled French to explain to a Moroccan student what Easter is:

"It would seem that despite having grown up in a Muslim country, she would have heard it mentioned once or twice, but no. 'I mean it,' she said. 'I have no idea what you people are talking about.' The teacher called upon the rest of us to explain. The Poles led the charge to the best of their ability. 'It is,' said one, 'a party for the little boy of God who call his self Jesus and . . . oh, s--t.' She faltered and her fellow countryman came to her aid. 'He call his self Jesus and then he be die one day on two . . . morsels of . . . lumber.' The rest of the class jumped in, offering bits of information that would have given the pope an aneurysm. 'He die one day and then he go above of my head to live with your father.' 'He weared of himself the long hair and after he die, the first day he come back here for to say hello to the peoples.' 'He nice, the Jesus.' 'He makes the good things, and on the Easter we be sad because somebody makes him dead today.' Part of the problem had to do with vocabulary. Simple nouns such as 'cross' and 'resurrection' were beyond our grasp, let alone such complicated reflexive phrases as 'to give of yourself your only begotten son.' " Humor writing doesn't get any better than this.

I first saw David Sedaris on a late night talk show and thought the story he read was hilarious. It was an excerpt from "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and the next day I went to the library and got it. I read through it in a day, laughing out loud for the better part of the book. I bought "Barrel Fever" and began to read. I must say that I thought the book was extremely funny, but not as funny as "Me Talk...". Not because Sedaris did a bad job, but because I have a preference for essays while the majority of this book is short stories. That being said, it is still a great book. Its probably not for those that don't have a dark or twisted sense of humor. If your idea of hilarity is "Family Circus" then you probably won't enjoy the book. However, if you like witty and humorous stories about alcoholics and dysfunctional families, you will like this. I showed one of my favorite parts to a friend and she replied that I have "one sick sense of humor" but she was laughing right along with me. And so if that description could apply to you, I highly recommend this book.

Within a few pages of this David Sedaris book, I was seething with rage. "This is about as funny as a car wreck," I said to myself. Although I hate to start a book and never finish reading it, I tossed this one aside in disgust, vowing never to return to its poisoned pages. Well, I did pick it up a few days later and I am glad that I did. The problem was the first few stories. The humor in the first three or four stories is juvenile and just plain dumb. It is the style of humor one finds in our middle schools. Once you get past those clunkers, the following stories and essays crackle with humor and dark emotion.

My favorite stories were his holiday stories, namely "Season's Greetings," and "The SantaLand Diaries (this story is why I originally wanted to buy the book)." I don't think I really need to go into the SantaLand story since it popular enough that most people have heard of it or read it. As someone who did the retail thing, I recognize many customers and personality types in this story. I am surprised more people haven't mentioned "Season's Greetings." This story is an absolute scream. It is written in the form of a Christmas card-type letter written by Jocelyn Dunbar. Poor, poor Jocelyn. Her family is sorry to announce the arrival of Khe Sahn (!), a Vietnamese strumpet who turns up on the Dunbar doorstep. Khe Sahn is the illegitimate daughter of Clifford, Jocelyn's husband, conceived during his tenure in Vietnam. I don't want to ruin the whole story for you, but I will say the way that the story is written adds greatly to the humor. The breezy, forced joviality of the letter just killed me.

Other stories in this collection are just as entertaining, although much darker and thoughtful. "After Malison" tells the story of an arrogant literary jerk and an encounter with her favorite post-modern writer. "Don's Story" reveals the vacuous nature of Hollywood. "Jamboree" is a depressing story about an unwanted child and his jerk parents. All of the stories will arouse some type of emotion in you, whether it is rage, happiness, or tears depends on the type of person you are.

Sedaris does have insightful perception on various aspects of society and when he is writing at top form, he shines. My advice on reading this book: expect good stories, but expect to read awhile before you get to them.

This is the book that put David Sedaris on the map, along with the broadcast of the brilliant, hilarious 'SantaLand Diaries,' the autobiographical retelling of Sedaris' stint as an elf at Macy's that is a cornerstone of this collection of twisted stories. Many more treasures can be found here also. In 'Parade' Sedaris sets the absurd tone with a kiss-and-tell that reveals past relationships with the unlikeliest of lovers...a notorious former heavyweight champion and a Hollywood icon/NRA-spokesman among them. The satirical 'Glen's Homophobia Newsletter, Vol.3, No. 2,' a catty tirade spurred by misdirected affection, unrequited love, and paranoia, is a standout. Another is 'Season's Greeting's...' a brilliant account of the disintegration of a deliciously dysfunctional family upon the arrival of a half-Vietnamese ... child. I could go on and on...
The inability of people to understand each other due to differences in culture, class, or education is a theme that recurs throughout these stories, as well as later stories in 'Naked' and 'Me Talk Pretty One Day'. I highly recommend all of these collections, but be forewarned - they are not for the timid. I have read and reread 'Barrel Fever' many times over the years, and it is still fresh. What really makes this book a must-read is Sedaris' original voice and pitch-perfect delivery. Audio versions of these stories are also worth exploring. ... END

To call David of Sedaris's sense of humor unique, might be an understatement. In "Holiday's on Ice." David delivers his wicked black humor with a Christmas theme that will doubtfully ever translate into a classic made for TV movie. These are certainly not heart warming, life affirming tales to read in front of the fire place with a nice glass of eggnog. To Sedaris, Christmas is an odd assortment of disgruntled department store elves, ..., tv executives, and suburbanites struggling with the "true" meaning of Christmas. "Give until it bleeds."
As always Sedaris uses his unique viewpoints, and sometimes personal experiences to create rich and creative stories. "Holidays on Ice" is a collection of his finest holiday based stories. While not as involving and complete as "Naked," or "Me Talk Pretty One Day." "Holidays On Ice" is a nice Sedaris for beginners book. Stories like "Santa Land Diaries,"
and "Dinah, The Christmas Whore" are as involved, and as well told as any other story in his longer works. "Holidays on Ice" proves once again that David Sedaris is one of the finest Humorists, and all around story tellers in America today.

This book was a really fantastic collection of 6 short stories regarding the holiday season. I had heard so much about David Sedaris and what a talented satirical writer he was, and I was much impressed by his ability to parody the American publics love/hate relationship during the holiday season. His life as an elf in the Macys's shopping store in New York had me laughing out loud. And the upbeat Christmas letter that includes the introduction of a Vietamese stepchild was hilarious.

I finished the book in two days of light reading and realized the author is truly dark and twisted but extremely talented. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is next on my list. I guarantee you'll like this book, but just to add to the fervor of the writing, I suggest you read it a week before Christmas during your most hellish and frantic points of your life; it'll add to the hilarity of your situation.

While all of the stories and essays in Holidays on Ice are good, the standout is clearly "The Santaland Diaries". I always think that if I laugh out loud while I'm reading something, then that by itself makes the book worth the price of purchase. I actually had to put the story down till I pulled myself together enough to resume reading it. "The Santaland Diaries" is a glimpse at our own attitudes and behavior during "the festive holiday season". Perhaps it is a clicheed sentiment (if a cynical opinion can be sentimental), but it is true that during the one time of the year when we should be celebrating peace and love for our fellow man, we behave like looters and scavengers in an orgy of mass consumption, ready to slit the throat of anyone who we percieve is trying to interfere with our quest to have a picture taken with a guy in a Santa suit. Sedaris illustrates this with biting humor and, of course, fiction is never as funny as what happens in real life. By the way, I'm pretty sure the story in "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" actually happened too...

"The Santaland Diaries" is superlative satire. The words bristle and delight. Sedaris is a genuine American voice -- witty, sardonic, removed, unpredictable. I have seen "Santaland" work on stage many times. Way funny stuff.

However, why read a script when you can read the original prose piece in Sedaris' *Barrel Fever* or listen to Sedaris aloud on CD? The DPS script seems a backwards way to encounter "Santaland" on the page.

As far as "Seasons Greetings" goes, well, let's just say that this is not a piece of writing for the ages.

I picked up this book at the library after recognizing the title of "The Santaland Diaries" from posters I had seen in downtown Pittsburgh at Christmastime. Figuring it would be a quick read, I borrowed it and started paging through it.

I don't think I ever stopped laughing.

"The Santaland Diaries" is a hilarious one-man play about the author's experiences working as an elf in Santaland at Macy's department store in New York City. Chronicling everything from his dismay at having to choose an 'elf name' to be referred to as, to his questionable co-workers (including profiles of all the Santas and the woman who desperately wanted to wear her costume home everyday), the quality of visitors, and his final relief at the end of the season, Sedaris has put together a brilliant piece of work.

I only regret that I missed the chance to see this performed at Christmastime, and hope that I have a chance to see a future show. It's worth a read, at the very least, and you may find yourself quoting it as I have ("It breaks my heart to see a grown man dressed as a taco" is one of my favorite lines, and I find ways to use it in conversation entirely too often). Great for a quick pick-me-up.

THIS IS THE AUTHORS FIRST PUBLISHED WORKS AND IS WHAT BROUGHT HIM HIS SUCCESS. IT WAS READ ON NPR AND WAS INSTANTELY A HIT. THESE 2 PLAYS ARE HILIARIOUS. THEY CAPTURE THE QUIRKY AND OUTLANDISH HUMOR THAT DAVID SEDARIS IS SO WIDELY KNOWN FOR. IT IS A DEFINITE MUST READ. YOU WILL ROLL AND TUMBLE ON THE FLOOR WITH GIGGLES AFTER SUBMERGING IN THESE MOST ENJOYABLE PLAYS.

From the moment you know the main character is a sweaty nun (well, sort of) who makes unique cheeseballs, well, come on! What do *YOU* think is gonna happen?

There are some Sedaresque observational turns that are worthwhile: AA members staffing an IHOP equivalent, an all-too-short interlude with a Mr. Peanut-wearing couple from Eastern Europe...

Perhaps onstage, with the aid of a talented comic to interlace these tidbits with some kind of physical running gag, well, it would all be worth it.

But I guess it really isn't.

I also saw this play performed and thought it was the funniest live theater I've ever seen. Though I agree that when reading a play you lose a lot (the energy of the performers and the audience reactions) I still think this one is worth having in your collection if you are a fan of either Sedaris.

I have read all the luke-warm reviews this book has gotten. The only thing I can say is that if you're a fan of Amy's you'll love it. If you're more of a David fan, you might be dissapointed. I saw the play in New York during its run, and laughed so hard I cried. Sure, Amy did the buck-tooth Jerri Blank bit, but seeing as how I LOVE Jerri, I LOVED the play. Jackie Hoffman (currently in "Hairspray" on Broadway) and David Rakoff (read "Fraud" if you like David's books) were absolutely wonderful. I was lucky enough to meet Amy after the play, and buy one of her cupcakes. She was delightful. Reading plays (or screenplays for that matter) has never really interested me. Unless you've seen the play or movie, it just isn't quite the same. But I will treasure this book as a permanent reminder of the wonderful week I spent in NY, the highlight of which was "The Book of Liz." And Amy, if you ever read these things, thank you for the awesome time.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who waited excitedly for this book only to discover that it was in French! Why is it even advertised in English?

I am incredibly frustrated to have anticipated this book, to have ordered it to be sent to my parents' house in Missouri, and to have had my mother ship it to me in Paris, where I live, only to find that it is a French translation. I should have paid more attention to the publisher, but ... everyone thought it was a new book! Bad advertising, fellas.

I thought this was a new book about Sedaris's further hilarious struggles with the French language, so I bought one copy for myself and another for my dad. Guess what? It's the French translation of "Me Talk Pretty One Day". I hope I can return them.