Book – Me Talk Pretty One Day
By David Sedaris

I’ve decided I’m not a big fan of books that are a series of amusing anecdotes about things that have happened to the author, without much of a linking theme. Sedaris has a witty way of relating stories and is often hilarious, but it really felt like I was reading a blog. A good blog. But still a blog. Not a novel.

After reading a few of Augusten Burroughs’ books recently as well as a beautiful series of stories called Sottopassagio by Nick Alexander I think I have invested enough time in the genre to say that I like it but don’t love it. The books are usually really amusing, but feel more like reading a magazine. They are definitely more successful when the narratives are more clearly linked to form a bigger picture or theme, like Burroughs’ Running With Scissors or Sottopassagio.

Me Talk Pretty One Day has a few great stories about struggling with learning French after moving to Paris but other stories in the collection seem a bit too random. The stories about learning French were definitely the highlight of this book, especially since they are so relatable for me and my German at the moment. As they are the middle stories in the book, the whole thing felt like a normal curve (or a brontosaurus): very thin at one end, much much bigger (and better) in the middle and then thin again at the other end.

His writing is good, his stories funny but they just didn’t leave me feeling very satisfied. I know I would enjoy reading another book by Sedaris (or similar anecdotal writers) but only if I have nothing to read on a long train ride or flight.

That said, I’ve just started Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch, a series of anecdotes about football…