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David Sedaris

Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim Paperback – 6 May 2004

by David Sedaris (Author)

4.3 3,429 ratings

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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.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Abacus
Publication date

6 May 2004
Dimensions

13.7 x 2 x 21.8 cm
ISBN-10

0349118132
ISBN-13

978-0349118130
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Product description

Amazon Review

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

Review

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.')

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Abacus (6 May 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0349118132
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0349118130
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.7 x 2 x 21.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 3,018,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,378 in Criticism on Novels & Novelists
- 3,180 in Humour Collections & Anthologies
- 3,842 in Humorous Essays (Books)

Customer reviews:
4.3 3,429 ratings

About the author

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David Sedaris

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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'.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

3,429 global ratings

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Jeremy Walton

His dark materials

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 27 April 2023

Verified Purchase

Attracted by the recommendations in Amazon, I bought this for my daughter's birthday last year. She thought parts of it were quite funny, but wasn't very impressed overall. Having read it myself, I'm compelled to agree. These pieces are mostly about the author's family - his parents, brother and sisters - and memories of growing up in North Carolina (the fabrics - or materials - in his title don't get another mention, however).

Although other reviewers found the book "extremely funny", I didn't. I could see that the author was taking a wry, sardonic view of his family's quirks, but I thought he missed his targets several times, and in some places - for example, when he pretended to find Anne Frank's apartment desirable to live in - distastefully. There's a story ("Blood Work") about him going to clean a New York apartment wherein the occupant engages in multiple offensive and macabre activities because - it eventually turns out - the occupant thought he was somebody else, but I found the tale more uncomfortable than funny.

I could see a nice turn of phrase here and there - e.g. "He looked as if life had not only passed him by but paused along the way to spit in his face" [p139], and "Wear [a suede vest he'd seen in a store] bare-chested, and it suggested that, long hair or not, yours was a life lived in that devil-may-care region best described as 'out there'" [p78]. Or his description of a mouse in a trap, who was pushing himself in "an effort to live within this new set of boundaries. 'I can live with this,' he seemed to be saying. 'Really. Just give me a chance.'" [p250].

On balance, however, I didn't think these nuggets compensated for my lack of appreciation for the book, and I was pleased to be able to close it for the last time.

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Brian R. Martin

Good, but the readings are better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 14 November 2015

Verified Purchase

I only recently came across David Sedaris when I happened to listen to one of his live readings on BBC Radio 4. His narration of the bizarre stories about his decidedly odd family was done in a superb deadpan style with a perfect sense of timing that had the audience, and myself, laughing out loud. I was so impressed that I bought this volume. It is the same mixture of family stories, plus encounters with a wide range of other characters, and interactions with his partner. The anecdotes are a mixture of humour and brutal frankness (some might say rudeness) and it’s surprising that his family and friends are still on speaking terms with him (assuming they are). Some certainly made me laugh, such as the time he had a cleaning job and had to work around his male client who had very different ideas about what services he really wanted. Others were rather sad, as when he starts to get worried he will be considered a paedophile, because he helps a young boy carry coffee to his parents hotel room. But in general the results are not as good as his live readings. I suppose that’s inevitable, because the delivery is so important.

4 people found this helpful

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Raul

funny sometimes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 5 November 2020

Verified Purchase

Although there were some hilarious moments in this book I feel like some of the chapters were much less memorable - the chapter about St nick had me in stitches

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 21 October 2020

Verified Purchase

LOve love love David Sidaris, this was very nice. Although cannot be compared with his Calypso. The more recent the better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 21 June 2015

Verified Purchase

I am a great David Sedaris fan. I only discovered him a year or so ago accidentally on radio four. His books are lots of short observational stories, some quite dark, some close to the edge of 'acceptable' but all have David Sedaris's sharp observational humour. I find I can hear his voice in my head as I read which adds to the book. I wish there were more audio CDs to buy and listen to because I can listen over and over and still laugh. Thank you David Sedaris for lifting my spirits on my darker days - I am slowly reading through your books - all I can say is always keep writing. We fans need you!!

2 people found this helpful

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Iceass

Another engaging read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 28 August 2013

Verified Purchase

Bought this after reading "me talk pretty" an listening to latest Radio essays. The style and subject matter, the jaw dropping revelations regarding himself family and friends, is still done with the same skill, bold honesty and humor. I would never turn down the chance to read something by David but having read the two books one after the other I am feeling a little over exposed to the dysfunctional family theme. Sure Ill be back though.

3 people found this helpful

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Hencarrier

Nice low-key read; occasionally very funny

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 17 October 2014

Verified Purchase

I bought this book because I'd listened to David Sedaris on Radio 4 and liked him. It's very variable. Some bits of the book are so funny I almost choked laughing, long sections aren't funny at all, some bits are troubling. But all of it is very readable. He's a nice person to read if you are feeling sad and need a lift.

2 people found this helpful

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R H TAYLOR

Story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 25 October 2020

Verified Purchase

Very good book enjoyed

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Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim Paperback – 6 May 2004

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