My Review (5 stars out of 5)
This is a collection of David Sedaris’s best stories. From the absurd and the bizarre, to the touching and profound, we learn about his family, his relationships, and his often-hilarious insights into the human condition.
I’ve read several of this author’s books already so, unsurprisingly, some of these stories were familiar. Of those I hadn’t read, I particularly loved the one about the next-door neighbour’s daughter who refused to believe Spain existed, the search for a stuffed owl, and the ensuing complications of accidently spitting out a cough drop into a fellow traveller’s lap. As in previous books, there are a lot of stories involving his relationship with his father, as well as the reactions of his siblings to the suicide of their sister Tiffanny. Interestingly, this volume contains several fictional stories—mostly ones I hadn’t seen before—but it has to be said these aren’t a patch on his autobiographical writings. Writing the truth—or a version of it—does seem to be the author’s real talent.
A thoughtful, funny and deeply moving book.
Colin Garrow 