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Naked. (Abacus)

5 Sterne:		(83)
4 Sterne:		(23)
3 Sterne:		(7)
2 Sterne:		(10)
1 Sterne:		(10)

 

 

This is a very funny book, so funny that I shed tears of fun throughout the time that I read it. The title "Naked" is itself enticing, and reading the book offers no regrets for making the choice.The stories are excellently written with characters that are intuitively observed. The stories are laced with humorous lines and the flow is so smooth that it makes reading effortless.The plots are equally plot that is breath taking. Overall, the style reminds me of other works like The usurper and other stories, House of the Dead, White Fang. I found the stories hilarious and witty. They are also pager turners.

The fiendish prose of David Sedaris, once I got past the disorienting first chapter, held me hostage. Never once did I want to be part of this family, but by gosh, I kept wanting to extend my visit. By the time I reached "next of kin", I had surrendered all my critical objectivity, and simply gloried in the family's reaction to the dreadfully proofread pornographic novel that gives the chapter its title. Part of the tremendous humor lies in *naked*'s truths: all children know where their parents keep the porno -- if there is any. (My mother's copy of *Fanny Hill* was hidden behind the fourth shelf above her bed).

On the other hand, the faint aura of loneliness that hovers over the text keeps this book from being a quick joke. The conclusion of "the incomplete quad" -- the unsentimental tale of travels with a quadriplegic -- does not spare the reader. And throughout *naked*, as I laughed, I was also haunted by a son who knows his mother is lying for him ("the drama bug"), and whose father tells deliciously gruesome tales and wonders why his children have no gumption ("Cyclops"). I confess that all those tics ("a plague of tics") also worried me. That may come of being a mother.

Three major points: *naked* made me laugh hard. Really hard. I even sent a copy of *naked* to my nephew for his birthday. And, finally, and not least, I am delighted that at last I understand the importance of a towel at a nudist colony.

This book is classified as a memoir, and it's the funniest one I've read to date. Growing up Greek in North Carolina couldn't have been easy, but adding to the mix a crazy grandmother and a sibling with a penchant for using towels as toilet paper makes it that much harder (and funnier, to us).

David was struck with enthusiastic OCD as a child, only to find ways to "cure" his tics in college. His stories of life after schooling include apple-picking and packing, working with jade (not to mention a crazy, hypocritical Christian), and refinishing woodwork with a Jew-hating Lithuanian and a somewhat confused black guy. He hitchhikes with all levels of human decapitation until a rowdy truck driver combs thicket by the roadside looking for him.

Not all of the fifteen stories are side-splitting funny. "I Like Guys" highlights accepting his homosexual feelings, and an undercurrent of seriousness lines the story. "Ashes" tells of his mother's cancer, and a sense of tragedy seems to sober his usually razor-sharp satirical style.

The last (and title) story, "Naked", tells of his experience with a nudist colony. It's written in more a journal form (the others are written in a 'flashback' form) and by the end, you feel strange in your own clothing.

I definitely plan on recommending this book to my friends. I don't see how you could live your life without picking up a Sedaris book.

I first heard of Sedaris through his reading of "True Detective" on NPR (fudge-colored towels). I actually sat in my parked car at the grocery store to hear the whole thing. I didn't realise the reading was from an entire collection so I was delighted to stumble across Naked a few months later. I am eagerly awaiting the audio version from the library. Until then, I am half-way through the book. Last night my husband and I were reduced to tears and painful belly laughs as I read aloud from "Cyclops". This morning as we were on our way to his work, I read aloud from "I Like Guys". I am two-thirds of the way through the book and thus far I prefer the earlier entries involving Sedaris' childhood over the latter entries involving his travels and odd-jobs. Yet even those are engrossing and entertaining. Had I been Sedaris' editor I would have left out "Dix Hill" and "Incomplete Quad" neither of which has added anything to the collection. Rather, I found myself skimming quickly, impatient for the next entry. For those who think Sedaris' tales are implausable just think of the last time you rode public transportation. I recently had a Girl Friday sort of job that was fraught with just the sort of experiences that would make an unbelievable story had I the inclination or the talent to record them. The kid who I pawned the job off on took notes. For any of you have ever had the inward thought, "What are all these incompetents doing on the set of MY movie?" this book is for you.

I far preferred Naked to his previous Barrel Fever, which I found to be mean spirited. Naked is brilliant, funny and touching. Luckily I read Cyclops on a loud plane because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe for 20 minutes. Also memorable were his articulate characterizations of his parents which vary from vivid to exquisite and kind (Ashes).

I don't like admitting this to myself (and frankly, I don't like admitting this to all of you out there), but I identified deeply with the main character in David Sedaris' book. And before you start screaming at your computer screen, I know that the main character is David himself, and it's not really a novel, but a collection of humour essays. I see him as a character, because I just can't believe that all of these fantastic stories are true. Is there some truth there? I'm sure. But embellishment seems obvious.

Anyway, back to my first thought. The David in the book is an intellectual snob, verbose and thoughtful, unsure of himself in most ways except his sexuality, but extremely sure that he knows what's best for the world and all its inhabitants. And he's damn funny, too. I can relate to most of that (I'll let you choose what I mean), so getting inside the head of such a witty and conflicted man was a real treat.

The first fifteen 'stories' in the book are well put together pieces on modern life as David sees it. The best of that lot includes "A Plague of Tics" in which David is attacked by a hyperactive form of O.C.D., and "C.O.G.", a wonderful riff on the whole Kerouacian lifestyle gone completely wrong. These first fifteen pieces, however, only form a prelude to some of the best writing I've read in years.

The second last piece, "Ashes", about David's mother's battle with cancer is what good writing should be: humourous and poignant, without ever being melodramatic. He wrings literature from real life, and makes the most of a heartbreaking situation. I can imagine what kind of catharsis it must have been for him.

The last piece (I want to call it the title track), "Naked", is about a trip to a nudist colony. I found myself busting a gut in the middle of a crowded subway car. It is sparkling comedy.

David Sedaris has the kind of sense of humor we all wish we had. He looks at the world through twisted glasses and the result is hilarious. Sedaris writes simple stories with amazing uniqueness. I have to say, his story "A Plague of Tics" got an A+ for uncanny humor and for provoking side-splitting laughter. Other stories like "I Like Guys" and "Dix Hill" may not have been extremely funny, but they were very satisfying. Read this book, everyone, because we all need a good laugh and no one does it better than Sedaris.

David Sedaris is one of the funniest writers alive. But this book was just plain dull. What an incredible disappointment coming right after his amazingly hilarious book "Barrell Fever." Fortunately, he's redeemed himself in his latest work "Me Talk Pretty One Day." I'd skip reading Naked.

Mean-spirited and depressing. Didn't find the book funny and felt ill when reading it.

I'd say this book was "O.K.". I didn't find it particularly funny, but the characters portrayed are rather interesting. If the tales are true, the author has certainly had some strange and sad passages in his life. Many of the paths he travels in this book are paths I've never seen, so it was interesting to read about the odd journey.