The Land and Its People: Essays
I realized some books back...that I don’t read Sedaris for the laughs, although he makes me laugh: I read him for his honesty ... What I admire most about Sedaris is that he examines aging with the same vigor, curiosity and grim glee that he showed in his earlier books, when he wrote about his younger self. He’s as alive and angry now as he was then; every year seems to be formative ... There are 28 essays in the book and, inevitably, some have more going for them, and more in them, than others ... Another reason I love reading Sedaris: He knits the present to the past so that they become the same thing; for him being alive has always been strange and atrocious, contradictory, unfair and hilarious.
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With his laconic delivery, Sedaris lures the reader into believing that the topic under discussion might be unremarkable, a you-and-me-in-this-together moment. But then, given Sedaris’ worldview and world weariness, eventually a knotty twist or spicy dash is delivered with the realization that Sedaris’ land is unparalleled, and its people are peerless.
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Funny and heartfelt ... Throughout, Sedaris’s wit and keen awareness of life’s absurdities are on full display. These essays are among the best of his career.
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