David Sedaris - Barrel Fever: And Other Stories Books

Pros: Sedaris' writing is filled with sarcastic wit and malevolent humor
Cons: Some readers may find the content offensive

The first time I heard the work of David Sedaris, I was driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Christmas Day, and I was not filled with the holiday spirit. Sporting a heavy cast on a painful, recently broken ankle, I was decidedly cranky when my stereo...

Pros: Some superb satirical writing.
Cons: Easily offended need not apply.

According to a blurb on the back jacket of my paperback copy of "Barrel Fever" David Sedaris writes with "a satirical brazenness that holds up next to Twain and Nathaniel West". That comparison is accurate. So is another blurb, which compares Sedaris to J ...

Pros: Sedaris wins me over again with his deft writing and comic intuition.
Cons: Contains only a few personal essays; mostly dark short stories; could be "offensive," I suppose

David Sedaris is one of my favorite contemporary authors, and he should be. His writing makes me laugh hysterically, but (more importantly) it also makes me consider his overall message (i.e., there is a usually a moral to his unusual tales). From...

Pros: Downright hilarious and experimental
Cons: Less "essays" than "stories"

I'm on Southwest Airlines Flight 1297 to Seattle by way of Phoenix, Sacramento and Reykjavik, Iceland, and for the past 12 states, I've occupied myself with David Sedaris' Barrel Fever. I brought it with me because it was short, and I have the...

Pros: Funny, irreverent, sarcastic biting humor
Cons: NOT for everyone! Some material could be considered offensive.

Have you ever had a short explosive laugh take you by surprise so that Pepsi snorted out your nose? Barrel Fever is filled with lots of these little laughs that sneak up on you and just positively erupt.

I need to follow kchowell around and...

Pros: Many humorous moments
Cons: Not always very humorous

Since I have enjoyed watching "Strangers with Candy" on the Comedy Channel, I have decided to begin reading the books of David Sedaris, who is the brother of the show's star Amy Sedaris, and, if I am not mistaken, one of the writers on the...

Pros: unique, funny, witty, takes risks.
Cons: overly sarcastic.

David Sedaris's "Barrel Fever" is a collection of twelve stories and four non-fiction essays by this ...

Pros: Very funny, biting wit, once I laughed out loud.
Cons: None.

This book is part of the emergence of a newer kind of wit in America. A biting, sad, ironic and bitter kind of wit that makes you laugh at its own twisted shape. The author, a gay socialite living in NY, brings the reader through his own daydreams,...