Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim [Paperback]

Most of us would be lucky to be able to express ourselves in writing half as well as David Sedaris does in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. But on top of his skills with the written word, the author also has substantial gifts as a performer, as he proves on the audio version of the book. But while the CD or cassette version of this collection is possibly the best bet for furthering your appreciation of the material, the book itself still showcases Sedaris's ability to capture the essence of his characters. Whether he's relating a tale involving his high-voiced brother Paul, or recalling times when he and his sisters tried to win good karma by speaking and acting like well-behaved, fairytale children, Sedaris's prose hits the right note in both the opening, comedic stories, and in the more poignant essays that tend to come later in the book.

In Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Sedaris describes fights with his boyfriend, and of his sister-in-law's difficult pregnancy. When sister Lisa complains about the stories involving the family, he writes about that, too. Sedaris's latest book provides more evidence that he is a great humorist, memoirist and raconteur, and readers are lucky to have the opportunity to know him so well. Perhaps they are luckier still not to know him personally. --Leah Weathersby, Amazon.com

These are scenes of family life at its best, written with clarity but also with great affection, through which the character of the author emerges, watchful, self-mocking and full of understanding. (TLS )

This is a man who could capture your heart and lift your spirits while reading out the ingredients of a rice cake. OBSERVER ('Mr Sedaris's humour is dry, witty and consistently successful.’ )

ECONOMIST ('Sedaris is like an updated Thurber: domestic, laconic, slightly warped but never bitter, and extremely funny.’ )

CULTURE, SUNDAY TIMES ('His best, funniest, most satisfying book.’ )

'His best, funniest, most satisfying book.'

'Sedaris writes with a gentle but unfailing acuity and a keen eye for the ridiculous.... extremely funny.'

*A new roundup of personal essays - surprising, disarming, heartbreakingly funny - from the #1 bestselling writer Time named America's Favorite Humorist.

David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveller. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn't it? In his new book David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives - a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim finds one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today at the peak of his form.

David Sedaris lives in Paris. Raised in North Carolina, he has worked as a housecleaner and most famously, as a part-time elf for Macy's. Several of his plays have been produced, and he is a regular contributor to Esquire and Public Radio International's "This American Life." His essays have been featured in The New Yorker and Harper's.