Books : Naked

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by: David Sedaris

: Naked

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.5402
EAN: 9780316777735
ISBN: 0316777730
Label: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: June 01, 1998
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Sales Rank: 1101
Studio: Back Bay Books



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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Hip radio comedy fans and theater folks who belong to the cult of Obie-winning playwright/performer David Sedaris must kill to get this book. These would be fans of the scaldingly snide Sedaris's hilariously described personal misadventures like The Santaland Diaries (a monologue about his work as an elf to a department store Santa) seen off-Broadway in 1997. In a series of similarly textured essays, Sedaris takes us along on his catastrophic detours through a nudist colony, a fruit-packing plant, his own childhood, and a dozen more of the world's little purgatories.

Amazon.com Review:
Hip radio comedy fans and theater folks who belong to the cult of Obie-winning playwright/performer David Sedaris must kill to get this book. These would be fans of the scaldingly snide Sedaris's hilariously described personal misadventures like The Santaland Diaries (a monologue about his work as an elf to a department store Santa) seen off-Broadway in 1997. In a series of similarly textured essays, Sedaris takes us along on his catastrophic detours through a nudist colony, a fruit-packing plant, his own childhood, and a dozen more of the world's little purgatories.



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Naked
Read this book as soon as I received it. Love this writers witt in his writings....very good book


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Add This to the List of "Things to Read Before I Die"
Anyone who has read David Sedaris' work or listened to him on NPR knows he has a style all his own. The book Naked brings the reader along on a journey through short essays that describe, in detail, aspects of his life that the common man may never experience. The final essay, which shares the title of the book, describes his experience at a nudist colony. He embraces the awkwardness of the situation and bravely details his insecurities. A tool he skillfully uses through his entire collection of essays is humor. If the humor aspect were stripped away from his writing, his work most certainly would take a darker and more depressing tone. I believe this is what makes his writing unique: his honesty, his bravery, and not to mention his phenomenal skill as a writer and a storyteller. The topics he deals with are very real which give the reader a strong sense of connection to him and his experiences. I can't help but admire him for his ability to rise above difficult situations, particularly in his childhood.

Sedaris' work can almost be described as having layers like an onion. On one level he is funny, on another he is honest and open, on yet another he is sarcastic, and at the core is a message about life. He tells a story without dominating the reader's experience; to get the core message one must look a little deeper, one must think! Any level of reader can appreciate his essays because no matter how deep one chooses to explore, he or she will find something to connect with, even if it's just for a laugh. I read his books when I'm having a bad day and need a little pick-me-up. I read his books when I want to be challenged as a reader. I read his books when I need inspiration. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to be entertained and learn something new through another's life stories.

Just to add, Me Talk Pretty One Day is another excellent book by David!



Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - I guess the Yanks are quite different
The short stories were nicely written, drawing on the presumed real life experiences of the author. As an author of humour, I found the style too self-consciously witty and trying to hard to be hilarious. In short, I found it tedious and barely raised a smile, let alone a chuckle and certainly not a belly laugh through the whole production. I put this down to the cultural differences between USA and Australia. It appears that readers in the USA have to be belted over the head and told when to laugh before they can appreciate humour. I prefer something more subtle. I am sure the author is a nice person, but there you go....


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Painful to read, mostly plotless, but entertaining
The seventeen short stories in this book are entertaining and make for a fun read, but they mostly revolve around the humiliation and embarassment of the author. On more than one occasion the author ends up hiding in a ditch while others are searching to beat him up. It pains me to think that these tales actually occurred.

Most of these stories do not have plots nor any closure, since they're simply the retelling of past events, and as a result I was bored with many of them. My favourite, by far, was "Something For Everyone," which had well-developed characters, revealed the author's deepest impression of himself, and (unfortunately) ended in a humiliating tragedy.

In summary, this book is recommended but requires a fair amount of wincing.



Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Not so naked after all.
Naked is a light-hearted collection of wit and satire, a collection of short lyrical stories from his life. Nearly every reader will enjoy the wit and humor. But thoughtful readers can also appreciate how Sedaris succeeds in easing us closer to difficult material, such as the death of his mother and living with OCD. Naked, however, is not completely naked. The title misleads. Sedaris, in fact, keeps readers at a distance that I ultimately found disappointing.


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