num_pages: 253
description: "It's a pretty grim world when I can't even feel superior to a toddler." Welcome to the curious mind of David Sedaris, where dogs outrank children, guitars have breasts, and French toddlers unmask the inadequacies of the American male. Sedaris inhabits this world as a misanthrope chronicling all things petty and small. In Me Talk Pretty One Day Sedaris is as determined as ever to be nobody's hero--he never triumphs, he never conquers--and somehow, with each failure, he inadvertently becomes everybody's favorite underdog. The world's most eloquent malcontent, Sedaris has turned self-deprecation into a celebrated art form--one that is perhaps best experienced in audio. "Go Carolina," his account of "the first battle of my war against the letter s" is particularly poignant. Unable to disguise the lisp that has become his trademark, Sedaris highlights (to hilarious extent) the frustration of reading "childish s-laden texts recounting the adventures of seals or settlers named Sassy or Samuel." Including 23 of the book version's 28 stories, two live performances complete with involuntary laughter, and an uncannily accurate Billie Holiday impersonation, the audio is more than a companion to the text; it stands alone as a performance piece--only without the sock monkeys. (Running time: 5 hours, 4 cassettes) --Daphne Durham
language: English
title: Me Talk Pretty One Day
titlecomplete: Me Talk Pretty One Day
characters: David Sedaris
genres: Biography, Short Stories, Comedy, Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor, Essays, Autobiography, Biography Memoir, Audiobook
ratings_count: 689025
places: Raleigh, North Carolina, Paris, New York City, New York
awards: awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Lambda Literary Award
category: Humor, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Puddly Award
category: Humor, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Thurber Prize
category: American Humor
publisher: Back Bay/Little, Brown & Co.