Naked

by David Sedaris

Paper Book, 1997

Status

Checked out
Due Jun 15, 2021

Publication

Boston : Little, Brown and Co., c1997.

Description

Essays. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) HTML: In Naked, David Sedaris's message alternately rendered in Fakespeare, Italian, Spanish, and pidgin Greek is the same: pay attention to me. Whether he's taking to the road with a thieving quadriplegic, sorting out the fancy from the extra-fancy in a bleak fruit-packing factory, or celebrating Christmas in the company of a recently paroled prostitute, this collection of memoirs creates a wickedly incisive portrait of an all-too-familiar world. It takes Sedaris from his humiliating bout with obsessive behavior in "A Plague of Tics" to the title story, where he is finally forced to face his naked self in the mirrored sunglasses of a lunatic. At this soulful and moving moment, he picks potato chip crumbs from his pubic hair and wonders what it all means. This remarkable journey into his own life follows a path of self-effacement and a lifelong search for identity, leaving him both under suspicion and overdressed..… (more)

Media reviews

Sedaris' Buch ist eine bittersüße, absurde, unsentimentale, bizarr witzige Schilderung mit Weisheit, mit komischen Obertönen, und sehr ernstem Unterton. Diese Prosa ist eine Entdeckung, eine fast perfekte Satire auf Biographien und auf das Leben.

User reviews

LibraryThing member heikid
What is it about: A collection of short stories
centered around a fictional family of David's,
creating a maddening / humorous /
half-believable memoir, constantly stretching
the reader's imagination, while subtly bringing up
questions about the true nature of humanity.

What went through my mind:
- Is
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this author crazy?
This question lingered in my mind the whole time.
- This book would have worked just fine
even with half its length.
- I have not read another book quite like this,
i'd have to admit.

- If he's not crazy, he must be very
observant and imaginative.
& i guess he's not that crazy,
given his superb literary techniques.
- It's amazing how the single literary trick:
Constantly creating climax/anti-climax
during the exposition of the story, aka
leading the readers on & surprising them
with twists & turns --
really made this book stand out from the crowd.
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LibraryThing member carmarie
How can you not love anything by David Sedaris? Another series of short stories/memories is captured fantastically in this humorous collection. Not to miss.
LibraryThing member severina
So everyone and their dog has recced David Sedaris at one time or another. I was in the bookstore looking for a completely different book and happened upon this one, so I decided to buy it. Especially when the sweetly dorky bookstore geek started going on and on about how awesome Sedaris is.

So at
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first I was like "Why the hell does THIS guy get recced?" The first essay in the book starts out with this fantasy thing about how he wishes his life was... and honestly, I was not impressed. It probably took till about the third essay in that I was hit by just how FUNNY Sedaris is. I mean, I laughed out loud NUMEROUS times while reading this book, and that just does not happen to me. It's a... dry, self-deprecating humour, and he presents himself as just an average-guy, and I get the feeling that he really IS.

I'm definitely going to be looking for more of his books. :)
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LibraryThing member katidid
The New York Times Book Review, Craig Seligman
I recently made the mistake of reading David Sedaris while I was eating lunch. Fortunately, I was alone in my office, so there were no witnesses when I spewed a mouthful of pastrami across my desk. Not one of the 17 autobiographical essays in this new
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collection failed to make me crack up; frequently I was helpless.
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LibraryThing member drmarymccormack
I LOVE this book. It's one of my favorites. When I first started reading it, I was in bed with my husband. I was laughing so hard I couldn't hold it in! He was so annoyed, but interested in what was so funny. Soon he was bugging me by laughing while I was trying to fall asleep! I have recommended
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it many times and no one has been disappointed yet!
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LibraryThing member NickConstantine
The charmingly funny David Sedaris allows us to peer into this window to his life. Naked provides hilarious insights to his zany family including his famous sister, Amy Sedaris. The short stories of Mr. Sedaris are very brave as they are creative retellings of his actual experiences. He boldly puts
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even the most embarrassing and telling moments from his life on the shelves of the store and in the hands of readers worldwide. I think that his work is very teachable because along with his great style and accessibility, he shows readers that putting yourself out there is doable, making mistakes is inevitable, and allowing experiences to shape you and help you grow is beautiful.
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LibraryThing member bookwormteri
I really wanted to love this book, but I just thought that it was okay. I enjoyed it, but it's not something that I am going to rave about. I realize that I am in the minority here, and I will read another of his books, but I wasn't compelled to read it.

Snippets of his Sedaris' life in essay form.
LibraryThing member dilldill
At times so funny I peed a little.
LibraryThing member Smiler69
My first time reading David Sedaris. Every review emphasizes how funny, nay, HILARIOUS and what a laugh-out-loud-till-you-split-a-gut reading experience it provided. So okay, the stories were a little loopy, but I chuckled just once and that’s about it.
LibraryThing member Katie_H
Naked is my first exposure to the humor of David Sedaris, and not only did I enjoy it, I will definitely read more by him. The comedic memoir is a collection of short stories from his childhood through his adulthood, including his experiences with OCD, the death of his mother, and coming out. I
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can't say that I can relate to his tales, but I experienced many laugh out loud moments. One of the more hilarious chapters chronicles the time he spent in a nudist colony. Underneath all of the silliness, it was hard to miss the dark and sad emotions that were also there. Due to the "bathroom humor," I wouldn't recommend this fun read to those who are easily offended. Anyone who enjoys Augustin Burroughs would probably also like Sedaris and vice versa.
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LibraryThing member Whicker
Sedaris is, as always both hysterically funny and strikingly poignant. This collection takes the reader on a tour of a younger Sedaris' life as he travels throughout the United States. An enjoyable and easy read.
LibraryThing member glitterlife
Its a great collection of short stories. I wont be suprised if most of the stories are actuall events on the authors life. Its a great read and I laughed so much out load with some stories....very very good read.
LibraryThing member bibliophile26
I love this author! I urge you to read all of his books immediately.
LibraryThing member moonstormer
Brilliant writing! So sharp and witty, I found myself laughing out loud uncontrollably, unable to even read aloud to friends and family the lines that had me cackling because I was laughing too hard.
LibraryThing member kalobo
Sedaris' view on life is wonderfully human and fallible. A great humorist. My first Sedaris book and probably my favorite.
LibraryThing member juliannekim
couldn't tell one apart from the other when it comes to Sedaris books. All hilarious.
LibraryThing member msleighm
Read at the recommendation of my boyfriend, it's one of his favorite books. Found it funny and sad, some laugh out loud humor, but in my opinion, the New York Times Book Review quote of "Sidesplitting" is highly misleading.
LibraryThing member BoundTogetherForGood
I just couldn't read this book and had to put it down after a while.
LibraryThing member vtn
This is a highly unusual autobiography of David Sedaris, who, according to the New York Magazine, is a "Playwright, author, radio star, and retired elf". I wasn't sure what he is actually. I came across his name when his book (also in my already-bought-please-read-it-quickly list) Dress Your Family
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in Corduroy and Denim made it into the various reading lists of newspapers and magazines. I thought he was quite interesting and I started to take note of his name.

The book is a collection of essays outlining his experiences growing up in a dysfunctional Greek and Jewish family, his problems (he suffers from severe tics and he is a homosexual), his drug-induced days in colleges, and generally, his observation of human nature. It's nothing like the typical biography with details and pictures of parents, grandparents, and relatives of three generations and boastful accomplishments lined up neatly in a timeline. It is a simple story of an ordinary but talented man.

He is described as a humor writer and this book is supposed to fall under the genre of comedy. However, let it be warned that the language is not all that simple. His style can be quite mouthful (in a good way) and takes time to get used to. Sentences can be quite complex but still honest and to the point. Having said all that, the book is undoubtedly funny. I caught myself chuckling aloud a few times after getting used to his style. His specality is cleverly turning sad, or even cruel, events into great satires.

Read it. It's really different.
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LibraryThing member yougotamber
I love this author, his memoir stories are exciting page turners that keep you wanting to know more about him. He lets you in on the deepest darkest parts of his life and is able to tell them in a comical way. He has a talent and I would recommend any of his books to you.
LibraryThing member SheLovesMaisie
Not my very favorite collection but still entertaining with Sedaris's remarkably dark, wry, endearing humor.
LibraryThing member frich
Very funny indeed, probably the funniest of all his books. The only book I've read which makes obsessive compulsive disorder funny.
LibraryThing member sarathena1
Amusing read. I especially like the chapter entitled "Plague of Tics."
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
I had high expectations for this book after reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, and I have to admit, I was somewhat disappointed. While Sedaris' writing is still sharp, sarcastic, and biting (just the kind of humor I like), the topics addressed in these stories seemed to be darker and, therefore, less
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laugh-out-loud funny. I still enjoyed it, but would recommend Me Talk Pretty One Day over this title.
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LibraryThing member melydia
As with all of Sedaris's books, this is a collection of autobiographical essays, mostly humorous. To be honest, this wasn't one of his better books. A lot of the stories felt simply too long and drawn out, as if they could have been split into two stories about two different things. I should also
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note that the stories are more sequential, so that things make the most sense when read in the order they are presented in the book. This wasn't a bad book, to be sure; I laughed in quite a few places. It just isn't as strong a set of tales as those found in his other books. Recommended for Sedaris fans, but if you're new to this author, you'd probably be better off trying out something else.
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Awards

Lambda Literary Award (Winner — Humor — 1997)
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction — 1998)

Language

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