Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
3.5/5Il punto della questione: Sedaris è davvero utile alla letteratura contemporanea?Okay, è come chiedersi se Scary Movie sia utile al cinema contemporaneo. No, non è utile, però si presuppone che abbia l'unico scopo di divertirti. Però davvero, se ad esempio io lo incrociasse per strada, non è che perderei come minimo un battito urlando "Oddio, David! Oddio! Ora che ti ho rincontrato la mia vita ha di nuovo un senso!" e altre fangirlate simili, probabilmente me ne uscirei con una faccetta sorpresa e un "Oh guarda, Sedaris!" e lo saluterei continuando per la mia strada. Quello che in questo momento è il mio dubbio atroce è..perché Sedaris dovrebbe spiccare? Voglio dire, non so se avete idea di quanti libri in lingua non vengono nemmeno tradotti, si presuppone che quelli che arrivano fino a noi abbiano almeno una marcia in più. Sedaris è il classico tipino con cui fai piacevolmente quattro chiacchiere, e raccontandoti della sua vita privata (perché l'intero libro si fonda su episodi singolari che gli sono capitati, o che sono capitati ad uno sfortunato membro della sua famiglia messo in ballo) ti fa ..sorridere, ecco. A me Sedaris fa ridere di rado, che ne so, ogni trenta pagine. Purtroppo non ho neanche dietro una cultura sulla letteratura umoristica per dire se Sedaris è veramente importante o no, e neanche per fare tanti confronti. Però a fine libro ti rimane il dubbio del "ma alla fine quanto è stato piacevole? mi dimenticherò del libro nel giro di quanto? un mese, due mesi, o addirittura poche settimane? o forse sto sottovalutando Frocia Poppins?..essere o non essere?" Sì, essere o non essere, utile o non utile, divertente o no, uno potrebbe anche dire "sì, mi fa piacere, ma chi diavolo è 'sto Sedaris?"David Sedaris è un individuo del '56 con pochi capelli sulla testa, noto come umorista radiofonico, scrittore di bestsellers (odio questo termine) che usa la sua stessa persona e la sua stessa vita per fare ironia, coinvolgendo praticamente qualsiasi persona che abbia un rapporto stretto con lui. Se per caso avrete il piacere di conoscerlo, NON raccontategli nulla di sconveniente, potreste finire su un libro. Tant'è vero che i suoi familiari hanno il terrore di confidarsi con lui. Li capisco.Comunque le sue raccolte più famose sono Me parlare bello un giorno e Holidays on Ice.Leggo in diverse recensioni che nel libro che ho letto è un po' sottotono. Aspiro a leggere Me parlare bello un giorno, il titolo già è invitante di suo.Però per adesso ho avuto il piacere di leggere solo Mi raccomando: tutti vestiti bene, che devo ammettere che sì, una lettura molto carina, ma non mi è parso nulla di più. Una di quelle letture che mandi giù senza problemi, ma difficilmente ti rimane in testa nei giorni a venire, magari ti verrà in mente un giorno come tutti gli altri, e penserai a un particolare episodio del libro. Personalmente sono quasi sicura che ripenserò a quello strano tipo, Martin, che aveva prenotato un domestico a luci rosse. Voglio dire, quanti scrupoli bisogna farsi per inventare un servizio di pulizie a luci rosse? Mi rivolgo a Martin: amico mio, ma perché non vai al sodo e chiami un..oddio, qual è l'equivalente maschile di prostituta? ..ma esiste?! Prostitut..no. Oh mannaggia, non ne ho idea. Il problema l'ho già presentato prima: le risate me le ha strappate di rado, per la maggior parte del tempo si è limitato a farmi sorridere. Di certo il punto forte di Sedaris sta nel farsi conoscere dal lettore, aprirsi a lui, non aver problemi a prendersi in giro da solo, ridendo insieme al lettore dei suoi difetti più strani (mai avuto il bisogno ossessivo e incomprensibile del dover toccare la testa a qualcuno?). Comunque il meglio del libro è la copertina. Cioè, voi avreste il coraggio di mettere il davanzale di una Barbie come copertina, e DIETRO il suo bel culetto di plastica?PS: il fidanzato di David mi sta sulle palle. So che non frega a nessuno, però dovevo proprio dirlo.
What if you could write about whatever you wanted? What if no topics were off limits, no person's feelings or privacy taken into consideration, no personal flaws purposely left unmentioned in order to be protected from ridicule?You would probably write exactly like David Sedaris.To actually write like David Sedaris, however, you'd also have to be intelligent, impeccably attentive to details and most importantly - uncommonly funny. With that winning combination, Sedaris's unencumbered writing creates a truly fascinating look into his life and way of thinking.Take, for instance, a neighborhood family that supposedly doesn't watch any television. You've know them, or at least heard about them. But have you hidden yourself in bushes outside their house watching them at night? Sedaris spied on this family with fascination, watching them interact at the dinner table during the evenings and feeling sorry for the absence of television in their lives. After watching one of their children at school being left out of a joke that made reference to a TV show, Sedaris writes, "It occurred to me that they needed a guide, someone who could point out all the things they were unable to understand. I could have done it on weekends, but friendship would have taken away their mystery and interfered with the good feeling I got from pitying them. So I kept my distance."Then, when this same family showed up for Trick-Or-Treating the day after Halloween, Sedaris expresses what must be universally believed: "Asking for candy on Halloween was called trick-or-treating, but asking for candy on November first was called begging, and it made people uncomfortable. This was one of the things you were supposed to learn simply by being alive, and it angered me that the Tomkeys did not understand it."The subject matter varies wildly from chapter to chapter, but each contains Sedaris's hilarious spin on what would probably appear to most outsiders, nothing to write home about. Although there are several uncomfortable chapters that touch on situations involving his homosexuality, his willingness to expose himself, and, I suppose his willingness to expose his loved ones, give his writing an important and appreciated perspective. It's so enjoyably honest! I mean, he writes about going through the Anne Frank House while simultaneous apartment hunting and wanting to live there because it's "cute." Totally irreverent. But when he talks about ripping out the wood stove so that the fireplace would be the focal point and thinking the attic, with its charming dormer windows, could be his office...it ends up being really funny.The best chapter for me was called Six To Eight Black Men when he describes in laugh-out-loud detail the Christmas traditions in the Netherlands. Of course he begins the chapter by pointing out some of the more unusual local gun laws in various states of the USA, mentioning as an interesting fact that in Michigan - blind people are allowed to hunt...alone. As the chapter nears its end, and you wonder what the two stories have to do with each other, he finishes by sharing his thoughts while sitting in a Dutch train station. "I couldn't help but feel second-rate. Yes, the Netherlands was a small country, but it had six to eight black men and a really good bedtime story. Being a fairly competitive person, I felt jealous, then bitter. I was edging toward hostile when I remembered the blind hunter tramping off alone into the Michigan forest. He may bag a deer, or he may happily shoot a camper in the stomach. He may find his way back to the car, or he may wander around for a week or two before stumbling through your back door. We don't know for sure, but in pinning that license to his chest, he inspires the sort of narrative that ultimately makes me proud to be an American."Funny, funny stuff.
What do You think about Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim (2004)?
This seems to be the book that people most point to when highlighting Sedaris' talent. Like his earlier works, it is a collection of essays (27 this time) with some of them having been previously presented in various publication.As you have probably guessed from the title, this collection focuses primarily on the various members of his families. Funny tales include examinations of his brother's wedding and sharing the experience of his brother's first child being born. His mother is truly a gem, bringing about no shortage of experiences that could be the basis of an essay, including forcing the kids outside on a snowy day just so she could have a break. Then there is the time she had the kids scrounging their Halloween candy to give a treat to a neighborhood family who came on All Saint's Day instead of Halloween.There is also some pretty touching moments in the book as he shares the experience he and his siblings had as they dealt with their mother's losing fight with cancer.As a landlord, I found the family's experiences with wacky tenants to not only be funny, but sadly horribly true. Things really can go that bad.I think Me Talk Pretty One Day was a bit funnier, but this one was really good, too! I dare you to read it without laughing.
—Aaron
I've always read David Sedaris in short bursts. In college we read chunks of "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and I loved it. We read one or two essays here and there and they were always humorous, albeit dark, but I like that kind of humor sometimes. So when I was looking for something a little lighter to read I decided to pick up one of his books and browsed the library for a title. I started with "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls," and about a quarter of the way through decided to try another instead because that one isn't quite what I remembered, and I ended up with this one. "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" is more of what I remembered Sedaris being from what I read in school. There were even a few of the essays I recognized from class. The thing about the entire book though is that the essays started to run together for me. That isn't to say they aren't entertaining, but reading them one after the other in a big lump just doesn't seem the way to go. His readings are always entertaining, his individual essays are enjoyable, but all together in a book just felt like something was missing for me. I will say that the book did make me think. He mentions that everyone in his family fits into a role: the one most likely to succeed, the bum, etc. and it made me wonder where I fit into my family. I'm sure my sister was the genius of the family because she studied and studied often and my brother would be the athlete because he was pretty much good at anything that involved not sitting still. Between the genius older sister and the athletic younger brother, it might be nice if I was known as the bookworm or the computer geek but... I'm also the same child who ripped the shelves off the wall of the laundry room in one fell swoop and the child who released a laundry basket full of bouncy balls down the stairs. I could very well be the Fred and George of my family.
—Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja
I FINISHED THIS. YAY. It took me like two months for some reason ... Pathetic, I know. It's not even that long. Seriously, I've been awful at reading/reviewing for the past few months. Ugh. But tonight I sat down and I was like, "BITCH, YOU'RE GOING TO FINISH THIS BOOK IN THE NEXT HOUR." So, I did. I'm just going to make a habit of doing such things to myself, or else I'll just keep forgetting to read and feeling guilty about it. Anyway, it's kind of hard for me to review a short story collection since I'm more into reviewing novels. So, this review sucks. Oh well. Basically, this is a book of memoir vignettes in which David Sedaris discusses his life, crazy family, so on and so forth. And ... it's awesome.This is the first entire Sedaris collection I've ever read. I'd previously read a few of his short stories by themselves, but never one of his whole books. And after reading this one, I hope to read the rest of his books. Few books have made me laugh the way this book did. Sedaris's humor is just fantastic, his voice is unique and easily likable, and his writing is great. Altogether, it's fabulous.So ... go read it.
—Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!*
