Top Horror from the Past Five Years

Glenn Sumi's Reviews > Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

by
28854579
's review

it was ok
bookshelves: short-stories, memoir, non-fiction

After reading Sedaris's much better written (and funnier) Me Talk Pretty One Day earlier this year, his debut book of stories and essays is disappointing. The short stories, in particular, are uneven, many of them contrived, failed attempts at being whimsical, absurd or shocking. I guess he's just not very good at making stuff up.

The one gem is the final piece, the now famous SantaLand Diaries, chronicling his experiences as a 33-year-old working as an elf at Macy's elaborate holiday display. The tone is witty and self-deprecating, the pacing immaculate, the observations detailed, vivid and pee-your-pants (um, like one of the SantaLand visitors) hilarious.

I only wish the rest of the book had been this good.
11 likes ·  ∙ flag

Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read Barrel Fever.
Sign In »

Reading Progress

April 10, 2014 – Started Reading
April 13, 2014 – Shelved
April 14, 2014 – Finished Reading
January 27, 2015 – Shelved as: short-stories
January 27, 2015 – Shelved as: memoir
January 27, 2015 – Shelved as: non-fiction

Post a comment »
Comments Showing 1-2 of 2 (2 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by Jill (new) - rated it 2 stars
Apr 10, 2018 08:56AM

Jill Hutchinson Sorry that book is not as good as expected. I think some of his books are absolutely hysterical.


message 2: by Glenn (new) - rated it 2 stars
Apr 10, 2018 09:01AM

Glenn Sumi Jill wrote: "Sorry that book is not as good as expected. I think some of his books are absolutely hysterical."

Thanks, Jill. Perhaps it's unfair to judge an author's early work against his/her later successes. But Sedaris definitely improved! And I agree. Some of his essays are among the funniest things I've read.


back to top