In this phenomenal #1 bestseller, David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn't it?
Yet Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below the surface, exposing a world alive with hidden motives and obscure desires. In DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM, one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today gives us his richest book yet.
Whether by nature or by nurture, Ma and Pa Sedaris certainly knew something about raising funny kids. Amy Sedaris has built a cult following for her Comedy Central character Jerri Blank, and David, the more famous of the two siblings, continues to spin his personal history into comedic gold. A good chunk of the material in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim debuted in other media outlets, such as The New Yorker, but Sedaris's brilliantly written essays deserve repeat reads.
Based on the author's descriptions, nearly every member of his family is funny, although some (like sister Tiffany, perhaps) in a tragic way. In "The Change in Me," Sedaris remembers that his mother was good at imitating people when it helped drive home her point. High-voiced, lovably plain-spoken brother Paul (aka The Rooster, Silly P) has long been a favorite character for Sedaris readers, though Paul's story takes on a serious note when his wife has a difficult pregnancy. The author doesn't shy away from embarrassing moments in his own life, either, including a childhood poker game that strays into strange, psychological territory. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim provides more evidence that he is a great humorist, memoirist, and raconteur, and readers are lucky to have the opportunity to know him (and his clan) so well. His funny family feels like our own. Perhaps they are luckier still not to know him personally. --Leah Weathersby
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Quirky, odd, weird:
I don't like to read reviews and descriptions of a book prior to reading it because so very often they give away too much and spoil the book for me. This book was given to me as a gift and I just assumed it was fiction. I kept waiting for some sort of story to evolve, a plot, a direction. Took me many a chapter to even realize this was non-fiction and basically a collection of anecdotes. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more if I had realized that at the onset. Anyway, I thought it was a fairly... more info
Sedaris knows how to show you a great time.:
I've loved every one of Sedaris' books, and just fininshed re-reading this one. I felt like some good laughs, and his books really deliver. Sometimes a "yikes" rather than a laugh, but always an impact. I have yet to find anyone than has the wit and style and ability to fascinate as well as produce a belly laugh like David Sedaris.
I guess a lot of people think he's funny... I think he's disturbing!:
This book has been on my stack of "to read" books for ages, and I finally got around to it. He's quirky and sarcastic, but overall I found the essays depressing and disturbing. I didn't find him or his family all that interesting. When he moved toward the more outwardly comedic, he also became more crude. It's certainly not at all flattering to his family or others who find their way into his stories. I'm sorry I bought it - wish I'd just borrowed it from the library!
Dress Your Family in Cords or enim:
This book is hysterical! Probably one of his best works if not the best.If you like Sedaris at all then you must read this (even though it's not his latest). It's even funny a second time around, the semi biographical short stories don't get dated.
