Me Talk Pretty One Day

During break I read the book Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, which is a collection of essays about different times of his life. It is split into two parts; the first being about his life before he moved to France, and the second part being about his life living in Normandy.

David Sedaris is best known for his humorous writing. Most of his books and essays are about himself and his life, but he expresses them in a tone that is funny and at times appears satirical. Growing up, he had a big family with married parents and five siblings. Also, at some point in his life he came out that he was gay. The people in his life appear important to him, because in nearly every one of his stories, he mentions his parents, siblings, and boyfriends.

Because this book is composed of many different essays, the motives and inspiration behind the writing is unclear. It’s obvious he wrote about events that were of significance in his life, from being in speech therapy during school, to family pets, to moving to France with his boyfriend. While he was writing the book, I don’t think he was trying to achieve a goal, teach a lesson, or explain himself; I honestly think writing is Sedaris’s passion and he just enjoys telling people about his life. Possibly in some stories, he is trying to influence people to learn from his mistakes; be careful what you try to say in French while shopping in Paris, never try to befriend your music instructor, and avoid county fairs in France. He cares about his family and friends, so they are mentioned in nearly every one of his stories. Writing this book, the author was rolling in his past memories and creating stories that are fun to read.

There is no general plot summary or setting in this book. The book changes its subject every ten or so pages. We read essays about Sedaris being forced to go to guitar lessons, struggle with items on a menu, learning French, and his dad hoarding rotten food and clothing. The style the book is written in is bittersweet. Each chapter is a new story, making it so the reader never gets bored with the subjects or characters. The issue I encountered with this is there is no overall climax or solution to the story, and it can seem choppy. But, this choppiness gives a structure to the story that is suited to its subject matter. Sedaris’s life seems to have many dynamics to it and seems to have a lot going on, so the story being all over the place fits well. The story isn’t in a timeline, first he’s in grade school then he’s in his forties, then he’s back at school. It is at first chaotic, which may be what his life is like, but then you get the out of order stories and you just have fun reading them.

This book was interesting to me, and I would recommend it to readers searching for a laid back, humorous, quick read. What I found most interesting were not the stories that he told, but the stories that he didn’t tell. He never tells the story about coming out that he was gay, you just read in a story he has a boyfriend. And he never talks about his mother’s death; he just says his dad got a dog after the event. He seems to write about times that were not too life changing and that he could put a mellow temperament on. It is a very laid back book, and I would recommend it. I have not read any other of Sedaris’s works, but after reading these essays I want to. One of the best things about this book is that if you are reading a story that doesn’t interest you, it will be done in a few pages and you will have a completely new story and setting. It is easy to read and it is fun to learn about several of his life experiences.