This book is in reality a series of short stories none of which despite what the blurb did I find "wildly entertaining", one or two made me smile slightly but most simply made me grimace. The first half of the book contains personal stories about his time in the US as a child whilst the second half is about his time living in France with his boyfriend and his struggles with the French language.

My biggest issue with this book is that I felt absolutely no sympathy for the guy. He seems rather self-centred and arrogant to me, in fact I felt more sorry for his family members for having to be related to him. I get some of the jokes that he tried to make, but a lot of the stories seemed simply bizarre to me. Probably it's better to hear these stories in an audio book, but even then I'm not convinced that I found him particularly interesting. Not for me. ( )

I didn't mind this book at all-- in fact, I read it cover to cover in a few hours. It was mostly interesting and well-written, and it definitely passed the time. But I'd been led to expect that Sedaris was piss-your-pants funny, and it turned out not to be the case for me. Guess Bill Bryson is secure in his place! ( )

Wow.
That's not a good wow.

When I read a review which stated that Sedaris was 'one fo the worst human beings in history,' I was perplexed as to how someone could be moved so much as to have that opinion. Then I read it. Then I understood.

I don't know what is more incredible - the fact Sedaris is a sucessful author or the fact that people like him/his writing! Without an ounce of hyperbole, David Sedaris is an unhappy, conceited, ignorant, self-obsessed, fearful, judgemental, unaware, unintelligent see you next Tuesday!

He is a man who clearly thinks very little of others (a woman nearly falling from a fairground ride only led him to regret she didn't as he became deprived of a box office story about it) and hasn't the capacity to effectively reflect on his own issues (with learning, compromising, not getting his own way) and see how much of a princess he is (recting to an unflushed mega-turd like it was a life or death situation).

Who goes to France to be with a partner and does the bare minimum to involve himself in French society? (spending most of his time watching English films in local cinemas even refusing to show friends the sights when they come visit instead leaving them a spare key and a map to go by themselves). Who gets jealous of their boyfriend's African schooltrips to an Ethiopian slaughterhouse because they are more exciting than his and hence passes such experiences off as his own because he's so obsessed with appearing interesting in the eyes of others? Who thinks someone has an inferior IQ level due to the not taking up of advice from a waiter then actually ends up with a significantly lower IQ than said person? Who laments having a single maid over a houseful of servants because it signifies more importance? Who spends an entire story being insulted on a Paris metro, explaining his hate for the insulter only to end said story by doing absolutely nothing?

You know who.

I've been let down by the goodreads rating system. I have two more of his books as they all are above 4 stars. I will try another but if there is even a hint of the drivel held in these pages, of self-obsessed spoilt princess musings which ignore the trials and struggles of and empathy towards others, I shall not hesistate to get rid of them. If I could give this 0 stars I would. Steer clear, it's horrendous. ( )

Funny enough, but I think I would have enjoyed the audiobook version more. ( )

I have read a couple of Sedaris’ diary-type books, so I thought I’d check out the book that made him famous. Much of the book is typical Sedaris - amusing, sometimes a bit crude, but clever. I liked this book, particularly the first chapter, where he visits the speech therapist as a child, and later chapters, like Nutcracker.com, where he dissects the computer. Some of it didn’t hold my attention, but when he and I connect, I know there is no one like David Sedaris and his wacky observations of the world. ( )