If you are like many NPR listeners, you first heard this author give an original and hilarious account as an elf working at Macy’s department store in 1992. His Santaland Diaries propelled him to fame and he has been writing best-selling books ever since. You may remember this classic show that is replayed at Christmas that introduced the reader to a short, middle-aged man that donned a humiliating outfit he describes as “velvet knickers, and a perky stocking cap decorated with spangles.”
This book is a wild ride of 28 essays that vary in length and substance but all have his trademark keen eye for observation. Some are wry and thoughtful commentaries about aging: his partner's hip replacement, the young punk who played his music loud on the metro, and many family memories that conjured up a reflective soul but all spun with some measure of mirth and sage stares into humanity.
One of the many stories that stayed with me started as a simple walk in Portland. He encountered a small group of homeless people, presumably sharing some connection like dogs or fentanyl, that was not so cleverly tucked into a baby carriage. The author’s walk somehow triggered their dog to lurch at him and bite him on the leg. The druggies shrugged “whatever”, much to the dismay of the bleeding author. With an evening reading ahead, David Sadaris had no time to spend in an emergency room, so he was left grumbling over his bandaged bite all night. When he related this story to his friends they came back with “What did you do?” And was admonished by some of his show attendees to understand that “…these opiod addicts have very difficult lives.” He excitedly kept sharing “I was bitten by a dog that was with these fentanyl users with a baby carriage! “What kind of a dog was it?” “I don’t know, like Toto in the Wizard of Oz.” Oh, a woman gushed “A kieran terrier, poor thing”.
Well, you can see how his exasperation with his everyday encounters are quite humorous largely because they are both weird and true. Sedaris travels all over the world with his notebook in hand, chronicling his insights into the people he meets of all stripes. Whether he is strangely on a horse trail in Quatemala, at a comedy convention at the Vatican, or conversing in broken French - one rollicking tale leads to another in a very satisfying series of belly laughs.
Do find the audiobook version if you can, as hearing David Sedaris bring to life his unique observations, with his renowned quirky wit and pitch-perfect deadpan timing, truly brings these tales to life with gleeful delight. And who doesn't need something to smile at lately?
