When I got ready to write a review of David Sedaris's Naked, I thought, "I've got it! I'll title it something like, 'Sedaris Lays Himself Bare in Naked'! Brilliant!" Unfortunately, almost all of the other review titles are a similar type of play on the naked theme. But while my title is decidedly not clever, I kind of like it all the same. It has a sort of Sedaris-esque ring to it, I think.
The Book
For those of you unfamiliar with David Sedaris, his books are all compilations of semi-autobiographical essays. Sometimes touching, sometimes hilarious, always offbeat, Sedaris's essays never fail to amuse and/or enlighten, and Naked contains no exceptions.
From "True Detective": It was one thing to sit in front of the television second-guessing a third-rate detective program, but quite another to solve a real case. We were well into the summer reruns when our household was shaken by a series of very real crimes no TV detective could ever hope to crack. Someone in our family had taken to wiping his or her a** on the bath towels.
The way that Sedaris juxtaposes unrelated, seemingly mundane events, like his mother and sister's fondness for detective shows, and the unmentionable assault taking place on the family's bath towels, is as ridiculous as it is sublime. Through the lens of one of his childhood memories, we can see another with new eyes.
We can never be quite sure how much of Sedaris's stories are completely factual, and how much is embellished to make for more off-the-wall humor, but regardless of the details, there is a truth in his stories. Whether or not his father went to such insane lengths to scare his children out of dangerous activities (as in "Cyclops"), we can feel that the story is born out of a memory as real as any, and that makes the rest of it, embellished or not, true, in the most profound sense of the word. Sedaris's stories take crazy, unbelievable characters (usually his family) and use them to, if not teach us something, at least illustrate some of the idiosyncracies of the human condition.
In my opinion, though Sedaris is very, very good when he's being funny, he's at his best when recounting a truly emotional moment, such as the days shortly before the death of his mother. We feel such a connection to the characters, to his mother and her brash exterior, and her seeming indifference to her own coming death, that it strikes us like a punch to the gut to read:
I myself tend to dwell on the stupidity of pacing a cemetery while she sat, frightened and alone, staring at the tip of her cigarette and envisioning her self, clearly now, in ashes.
My Own Take
Naked was the second book by Sedaris that I read (the first was Me Talk Pretty One Day), and my overwhelming feeling upon finishing these books was an intense envy of the amazing breadth of experience that has been the life of David Sedaris. From hitchhiking across the country to working as an apple-picker to a week spent at a nudist camp, the variety of subjects guarantees that there's something fresh and new in here for everyone.
Maybe it doesn't seem like a good recommendation for a book that it makes my own life feel somewhat smaller by comparison, but believe me, I don't mean it like that. There is a lot of experience contained between the covers of any Sedaris book, and if anything, his writing inspires me to make more of my life, to experience more, to have more fulfilling stories to relate when I'm old.
The Final Verdict
Sedaris is a frank writer, and he often uses language that would make my mother blush. I know that some people are put off by that, so if that's something that bothers you, I wouldn't recommend Naked. But if you're ready to take in a touching, hilarious, irreverent series of autobiographical essays, then this book's for you.
One of the most talked-about, most enjoyed bestsellers of the year, Naked offers a collection of hilarious, touching, genre-bending vignettes guarante...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
One of the most talked-about, most enjoyed bestsellers of the year, Naked offers a collection of hilarious, touching, genre-bending vignettes guarante...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.