Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim

作者: David Sedaris

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Amazon.com Audio Review

It just isn't fair: most of us would be lucky to be able to express ourselves in writing half as well as David Sedaris does in his new book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. But on top of his skills with the written word, the author also has substantial gifts as a performer, and he proves this on the audio version of the book. In his essay The Change in Me,Sedaris remembers that his mother was good at imitating people, and it's clear that he takes after her. Whether he's doing impressions of high-voiced brother Paul, or recalling times when he and his sisters tried to win good karma by speaking and acting like well-behaved, fairytale children, Sedaris's nuanced performance hits the right note on both the opening, comedic stories, and the more poignant essays that tend to come later in the reading. In fact, for those who have already read some of the best stories in other publications including The New Yorker, the CD or cassette version of this collection is probably the best bet for furthering your appreciation of the material.

Sedaris's career is closely linked with two things: audio (he was discovered by NPR's Ira Glass), and the personal lives of himself and his family. In Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, he describes fights with his boyfriend, and his sister-in-law's difficult pregnancy. When sister Lisa complains about the stories involving the family, he writes about that, too. Sedaris's latest provides more evidence that he is a great humorist, memoirist and raconteur, and readers are lucky to have the opportunity to know him so well. Perhaps they are luckier still not to know him personally.

If you've never heard David Sedaris tell a story, you should go to thisamericanlife.com or npr.org and listen to some of his audio files, because they are so much more enjoyable to read when you can hear his voice in your head.

My least favorite in this collection is Rooster at the Hitchin' Post, and even it is funny. It would be hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to, I might choose The End of the Affair - a funny and beautiful love story about long-term relationships.

I found some of the reviewers' comments about Six to Eight Black Men interesting. A writer from Turkey was offended by this story because "(Sedaris) wouldn't want to believe that St. Nick is from Turkey and that we wouldn't appreciate him here." But that is what makes the story funny - we are all prejudiced in favor of the ideas we grew up with. The stereotypical American tends to believe that the USA is the center of the universe, and Sedaris is poking fun of that very quality in himself - it's called satire, people!

And when Sedaris writes that "the average white American ... would barricade the doors" against 6-8 black men, this is not a statement of prejudice against black people, rather it is a pointed criticism of the white people who feel this way.

According to the dictionary, satire is "a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn"; it is "used to expose and discredit vice or folly." I guess this type of humor isn't for everybody, but for those who understand and enjoy it, David Sedaris is a master.

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