First published 2004
In these wry, rueful essays, David Sedaris lifts the veil on his eccentric family, revealing the quirks, rivalries, and tenderness that simmer beneath their ordinary lives. From shoveling snow with his sisters to attending his brother's wedding, Sedaris renders the mundane extraordinary, finding laughter and poignancy in the most banal moments. His sharp eye and wicked humor transform the stuff of life into an irresistible comedy of manners, where the personal is always political and the supreme expression of love is a well-timed barb.
Genres: family, essays, humor, autobiography, contemporary, memoir
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, wry-rueful
Tropes: found-family, intimate-portrait
Setting: Amsterdam, Netherlands, North Carolina
Period: 1980s
257 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company