David Sedaris’s “Me Talk Pretty One day,” is a cross between a funny read and a rambling diary, in which the author tells an autobiographical story about his life in North Carolina, New York City, and France.
The book might stir several chuckles when the reader sees little Sedaris struggle with speech therapy, then fight to get through college with an addiction to hard drugs, to Sedaris finding the differences of life in Europe and the United States.
The descriptions of Sedaris’s family and the way they all interact with each other are hilarious. Sedaris’s brother, who cusses like a gangster but has a North Carolina accent, refers to himself as “the rooster” and is not afraid of calling even his mother and father by disrespectful names
Sedaris’s sisters are not as fleshed out as the rest of the family but are still interesting people as well when mentioned.
The parents are the most flavorful characters in the novel. They are also the most likable for their unique mannerisms.
For instance, the father loves jazz and is not afraid of eating expired foods after hiding them in weird places.
More on the family would have been desirable. They are the stars of the autobiography but only because Sedaris’s presentation is well done and sound.
Sedaris has a distinct and splendid writing style. He fills the book with wonderful descriptions and words that really create a picture for the reader.
Excerpt: “Me Talk Pretty One Day” (page 76)
“‘Hit me,’ my mother said…. “Better yet, why don’t you pretend to hit me?’
I raised my hand, and my mother cried out in pain. ‘Ow!’ she yelled. ‘Somebody help me. This stranger is trying to hurt me and I don’t know why.’
I caught an advancing blur moving in from the left, and the next thing I knew I was down on the ground, the [Great Dane] dog ripping significant holes in the neck of my sweater.
The camera flashed and my mother screamed with delight. ‘God, I love that trick.’
I rolled over to protect my face. ‘It’s not a trick.’
My mother snapped another picture. ‘Oh, don’t be so critical. It’s close enough.’”
Sedaris clumped certain ideas together so that each chapter has its own theme. One is about food, another is about languages, almost each family member had their own chapter and more. The concept sounds like a good idea, but in the end, the structure failed in keeping the zest of the novel.
Even though the first half of the book was memorable and made you laugh out loud, the gusto of the novel seeped out in the second half as it lost its momentum when the chapters become wordy and lead nowhere.
These several chapters with a questionable existence, make it hard for the reader to keep reading. Instead of telling a story, Sedaris rambles away
about certain subjects that bother him.
For example, when reading the chapter, “Today’s Special,” Sedaris explains his distaste for high-class restaurants versus the hole-in-the-wall dine-ins in New York City. The reader is waiting for some significance, a big event, or some sort of epiphany to get the momentum going, but instead finds the narrator spewing his opinions about food.
Another pointless chapter is one about Sedaris’s comparison on France and New York. The novel in this chapter became a sort of essay or list of what Sedaris finds different from the two settings.
This adds no drive to keep the reader reading. Though the writing is comical, the importance of these ramblings in an autobiographical book is not shown.
Though some may argue that these types of chapters are to show Sedaris’s personality, they are still unnecessary since Sedaris’s voice is distinct and presentable. It is clear who is presenting the information and Sedaris’s retellings of those stories reveal his witty, sarcastic, and knowledgeable personality.
The second half of the book shifted from France to New York City several times. With not enough hints, the timeline can become a blur. At least for
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger, there were dates and other clues to let you know when, where, who, and why.
Because Sedaris was criticized for his speaking skills, more hints to the theme would make the story flow and end better since it is mentioned in the title. How did he survive high school? How and when did he know he was homosexual? What is the significance of learning French versus learning to speak correctly?
This is an autobiography, so the expectations of such important details should be revealed. They do not have to be explicit, but do need to be present in some form. After all, this information is much more interesting than hearing Sedaris’s spill on food.
The ending was not impressive. It didn’t relate to the beginning, the title, or anything previously mentioned in the book. The only familiarity was that the last chapter ended around Sedaris’s dad.
It is a funny last chapter because the father is a loving and comical character, but overall, the chapter seemed to be misplaced. It ended with a sort of family theme, but that particular theme was not emphasized throughout the book. The family theme is only referred to in the first half of the novel for a mere several chapters.
By having a constant theme (does not have to be unbearably present) and ending with that theme, the story would have been a lot stronger. It would have also helped provide the reader with extra motivation to read through the book, and allowed them to do so smoothly.
Excerpt: “Me Talk Pretty One Day” (Page 20)
“‘Hold on to your hat,’ my father said. ‘Because here’s that guitar you’ve always wanted.’"
Surely he had me confused with someone else. Although I had regularly petitioned for a brand-named vacuum cleaner, I’d never said anything about wanting a guitar. Nothing about it appealed to me, not even on an aesthetic level. I had my room arranged just so, and the instrument did not fit in with my nautical theme. An anchor, yes. A guitar, no. He wanted me to jam, so I jammed it into my closet, where it remained until he signed me up for some private lessons offered at a music shop located on the ground floor of the recently opened North Hills Mall.”
·Readability: 3 stars -The first half of the book was very enjoyable and kept a pace. Even though the second half of the book probes me to give the novel a two, the first half was written so well that I left the novel with three stars.
·Overall Rating: 70 percent. The style was very enjoyable, which gave Sedaris a literary voice, and the dialogue and descriptions revealed a great sense of the characters. However, the theme was not visible enough and the depth was below mediocre.
·If you don’t mind rambling and laughing, then you probably won’t mind reading this book.
