Horrendous
This is the worst thing I've read in a long time. I thought the other two books I've read by Sedaris - Naked and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - were a mixed bag, but generally amusing. Barrel Fever is just a disaster, an almost unreadable collection of short fiction with a few essays at the end. This is an early book of Sedaris's, and he seems better suited to autobiographical essays rather than fiction. In fact the only real bright spot in the entire book is his admittedly funny final essay, in which he details his stint as a department store elf for the holiday season. The stories in here were rambling, without any real plot or value as either drama or satire. Pretty disappointing. The only reason I finished it was because I kept giving Sedaris the benefit of the doubt.
Avoid this one.
2 comments:
Hmmm interesting. Everyone I know hyped "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and I was totally underwhelmed. I have a few other Sedaris books in my possession (the other two you've read), but I haven't felt like reading them. I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't think he's so awesome.
Yeah, Sedaris is the most overrated author I've read in some time.
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