30 Books in 30 Beach Days Day 9: "Me Talk Pretty One Day"
Me Talk Pretty One Day, the first non-fiction book recommended in this series, will—I guarantee!—have you laughing out loud.
The book is a collection of memoir-style essays by humorist and writer David Sedaris, who came to fame by reading “Santaland Diaries,” his account of working as a Macy’s Christmas elf, on NPR. He has published several essay collections and some fiction, much of which is based on his own life.
Me Talk Pretty One Day is a series of essays in two parts, both of which chronicle memories from David’s own life. The first part follows his upbringing in North Carolina, his college years, and his life in New York City. This first section differs significantly in substance from the second, which follows his move to France with his partner, Hugh, and the subsequent higher-class hijinks that befall him as he attempts to assimilate to French culture and learn the French language.
The memories are not all positive—there’s some darkness in his family, and he spent significant time in his young adulthood addicted to crystal meth—but they’re always tender, and perfectly recounted, and almost painfully funny. Sedaris brings each character—his father, his sisters, Hugh, the artists with whom he studied and worked, even the strangers he meets—vividly to life through dialogue and dialect and detail, incredibly precise and poignant.
You will not regret bringing this book with you to the beach—though your companions might be jealous at how often they find you giggling.
Review: 5/5
