Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules

Please understand that a writer's style is not always indicative of the type of writing he/she likes to read. I think those expecting a side-splitting collection of stories will be disappointed here. This being said, I think Sedaris has compiled a wonderful collection of stories. I am encouraged that Sedaris included a short by Alice Munro, one of the masters of the short story in modern times. A definite must!

I enjoyed every single story in this book compiled by the hilarious Sedaris. I expected fun and jokes in each story and instead received an unexpected collection invoking mixed emotions. I could not read the stories consecutively in a sitting. Each one made such an impact that I had to take my time to let them soak in. If you're tired of compilations of stories that have the same ending give this book a try. I concur with Sedaris' comment in the forward about how hard it was to select just one story from each author, they are all truly astounding writers.

In his introduction, David Sedaris says he hopes this collection will entice readers to seek out more of the work by the writers included. I think he reaches his goal. This collection is a jewelry box of stories, each one a gem. I'm looking forward to reading it over and over, because these are the kind of stories from which you can learn something new every time.

Its so rare to find a compilation of short stories where every one is a delight! The stories are a satisfying mix of old and new, funny, joyful and sad. All of which I found very satisfying. I admit I did cry during a couple, and I don't think it was all hormones. I wish I'd had this caliber of story to read in my English classes. This was also a nice way to be cordially introduced to some new authors to explore. And I admit, as a major David Sedaris fan, there's that little fake intimate thrill of 'Ooooo HE picked these out!' And anyway, it makes a really good gift because even if the person dosen't like it, they won't return it because the purchase value benefits a great cause.

The next best thing to a new David Sedaris book is a collection of his favorite short stories since they reflect aspects of his character that may not be readily apparent in his often darkly humorous remembrances. He has chosen seventeen diverse stories by both modern and legendary writers, and the net effect is a microcosm of emotions unexpected, sometimes funny (as you would expect) and often poignant. I like how Sedaris in the foreword reverses the perspective you would expect him to have and settles into being a reader like the rest of us. What he does contribute is a strong sense of himself in the presence of these stories by simply liking them enough to include them. Being such a fan of his work and being able to relate to a lot of the quandaries he faces in his life, I immediately felt a kinship with many of the authors some of whom I am already familiar. For example, Alice Munro who captured a particularly universal perspective in her recent short story collection about women in transition, "Runaway", has a surprisingly amusing contribution with "Half a Grapefruit" about an insecure girl named Rose who is rebelling against the concept of you are what you eat. Or Jhumpa Lahiri, who won a well-earned Pulitzer Prize for her own anthology "Interpreter of Maladies", of which Sedaris has wisely chosen the title story about the delicate relationship between an insightful Indian interpreter and a bickering Indian-American couple visiting India. Both focus on identity crises in vastly different settings. I certainly am familiar with Dorothy Parker but not with her wonderfully brief and evocative story, "Song of the Shirt, 1941" about a WWII-era seamstress under duress. There's an intense little story called "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff which raises issues of randomness and control at the moment of death in a biting, economic fashion. Other stellar stories are by the likes of Flannery O' Connor, Katherine Mansfield, Joyce Carol Oates and Patricia Highsmith. The quirkiest may be Jincy Willett's "The Best of Betty," in which we are witness to the sarcastic decline of a domestic advice columnist. But my favorite may be Amy Hempel's "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried", which deals with the complex reactions to the dying of loved ones. There is even a brief and amusing epilogue by Sarah Vowell acknowledging the charity to which Sedaris is donating the proceeds, a kindred spirit whose ironic death obsession pervades her latest tome, "Assassination Vacation" (she was also the voice of goth-like daughter Violet in "The Incredibles"). There is not a clinker in the bunch. While reading this breezy anthology will not make you want a new Sedaris book any less, it will make you appreciate what great taste he has as a reader.