Book review: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

I have owned Me Talk Pretty One Day (MTP1D) for several years, ever since my creative writing teacher in college made us read from it for class. I've since read two other of Sedaris's books, and while he's a talented writer, I no longer find him as funny as I used to. Like I said in a previous review, I just have less tolerance now for what older white cis men have to say about race, etc. His essays are generally rather amusing, but there is a lot there that would be considered cringy rather than funny, in my opinion. I think his essay about being addicted to drugs would be a useful one for teachers of college and possibly even high school students; reading about a detoxing and desperate Sedaris inhaling every particle on his floor in case he had dropped some drugs is enough to take away their glamour and danger.

My favorite essay has to be about how his father was obsessed with his daughters being thin and beautiful. It is of course horrifying and depressing, considering at least two Sedaris sisters became a drug addict and developed an eating disorder, respectively, but it's also kind of comical to read. Sedaris had this great, wry line about how he, the son, could have been eating mayonnaise out of the container with a serving spoon and his father didn't care, but if one of the girls gained a pound, the father acted like her life was ending and harassed her into dieting.  It sounds pretty depressing but it was hilarious to read how Amy, who today is a famous actor, got her own back.

The title, in case you are wondering, comes from an essay where Sedaris shares what it was like to learn French in a beginner's class with other expats from around the world. Anyway, MTP1D is worth a read, but check it out from the library.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Read in: early September
From: thrift store? don't remember
Format: paperback
Status: giving away