Naked by David Sedaris Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Naked
Book Review: A Distrubing Jaunt -- my opinion.
Summary: 1 Stars
After having enjoyed "Take the Canoli" (Sarah Vowell), I thought I would stick with the NPR storytelling genre, and bought this book as it was on the Amazon's "also bought" list.Written auto-biographically, Sedaris describes the nightmare of his childhood, as well as the nighmare of a child he must have been to his parents. He describes in detail his childhood obsessive compulsive behaviors, like screaming unexplicably in class, compulsive rocking, listening the same pop tunes hundreds of times, the need to smash his nose up agaisnt window glass when he was in a car, and how he had to count each step on the way home from school (with assorted rituals along the way, like opening doors with his elbows. This was a messed up kid. (or the fiction of a deranged person). I did not find it funny at all -- it was distrubing.
He also talks about his family including a father so obsessed with getting his kids to take up golf, that he finds it more important to keep the author and his sister at a professional golf event, than to deal with his daughter's first menstruation. Sick parent. Sick kid.
I put down the book about 1/3 of the way through, when he reveals his alternate sexual preference. For those of us who want to believe that such is a choice/preference of otherwise normal healthy people, this book disturbs that notion. I will share this book with no one -- I think I will throw it away.
Book Review: A Great Place to Visit
Summary: 4 Stars
The fiendish prose of David Sedaris, once I got past the disorienting first chapter, held me hostage. Never once did I want to be part of this family, but by gosh, I kept wanting to extend my visit. By the time I reached "next of kin", I had surrendered all my critical objectivity, and simply gloried in the family's reaction to the dreadfully proofread pornographic novel that gives the chapter its title. Part of the tremendous humor lies in *naked*'s truths: all children know where their parents keep the porno -- if there is any. (My mother's copy of *Fanny Hill* was hidden behind the fourth shelf above her bed). On the other hand, the faint aura of loneliness that hovers over the text keeps this book from being a quick joke. The conclusion of "the incomplete quad" -- the unsentimental tale of travels with a quadriplegic -- does not spare the reader. And throughout *naked*, as I laughed, I was also haunted by a son who knows his mother is lying for him ("the drama bug"), and whose father tells deliciously gruesome tales and wonders why his children have no gumption ("Cyclops"). I confess that all those tics ("a plague of tics") also worried me. That may come of being a mother.
Three major points: *naked* made me laugh hard. Really hard. I even sent a copy of *naked* to my nephew for his birthday. And, finally, and not least, I am delighted that at last I understand the importance of a towel at a nudist colony.
Book Review: A Masterpiece of Humor
Summary: 5 Stars
This guy truly has a gift. What a twisted, wacky, hysterical piece of writing. If you don't laugh at one chapter, you'll crack up at the next. A quick read, an enjoyable one.Book Review: A Must Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I received my copy of "Naked" from my sister as a birthday gift in December, and because of a particularly stressful semester, have not had a chance to read it until now, mid-May. What a pleasant surprise it was to read this book and be entertained, appalled, energized, and at times left on the edge of my seat. David Sedaris has a knack for catching the reader off guard, which is where a great deal of his humor originates. This tome is nothing short of brilliant!Book Review: A Slow Decline
Summary: 3 Stars
I used to love Sedaris. I loved 'Me Talk Pretty One Day' and loved the articles he wrote for the 'New Yorker.' Unfortunately, over time, I would argue he has traded in his natural penchant to make insightful and witty comments about everything for the type of shock value writing that has been gaining popularity in the memoir genre (much like Borroughs and Eggers). In 'Naked,' Sedaris seems to have abandoned the type of subtle commentary that causes us as readers to laugh out loud and turned to using only the outrageousness of the given situation or anecdote to win us over. His treks through the United States and stories of his father's useless advice just don't sparkle the way his previous writing does. The only strong essay is the last one, 'Naked' where he delves into his one week at a nudist colony. I long for the days when memoir writing was humorous in a subtle manner, instead of using absurdist plots and life stories to get me interested. Pass on this and read his older work.