“Me Talk Pretty One Day,” by David Sedaris, is a sarcastic and hilarious rollercoaster. This book takes the reader on a journey through the author’s strangely interesting family life and his amusing struggle to find himself in adulthood.When I first picked up the book, I had no idea what I was in store for. While perusing the back cover, I read a review in which Sarah Hepola of the Austin Chronicle claimed that this was Sedaris’s “most side splitting work to date….[It] had me howling in the airport, hands shaking, my eyes glistening with tears.”
I thought to myself, “Yeah, right.”
I couldn’t have been more wrong. This side splitting account of David Sedaris’s quirky family life and battles with finding his identity lives up to every gushing review it has received.
The story begins with Sedaris’s odd perception of his speech therapist and then progresses on to his accounts of the midget guitar instructor his father forced him to see.
Each member of the author’s family is introduced to the reader by the individual off the wall qualities he or she possesses. The reader is really exposed to the darker side of his life when Sedaris recounts his battle with crystal meth addiction, acquired while he was exploring his inner artist. Although a morbid subject, the author’s incredible talent for sarcastic humor shines through.
The second half of the book follows Sedaris’s adult life in Paris with his partner, Hugh. His battles with the French language are extremely humorous. For the beginning of his Parisian life, the only words he could comfortably say in French were “bottleneck” and “ashtray,” which he would retort to anyone who spoke to him. The irony of David Sedaris’s time in Paris is itself worth reading about.
The reviews are right. “Me Talk Pretty One Day” is definitely one book that is hard to put down once you’ve opened it. The author’s style is sarcastic, witty, and at times even somewhat psychotic, definitely providing major entertainment.
The story line jumps around in no particular order but is easy enough to follow. I highly recommend picking this book up. It’s guaranteed to make you laugh out loud!