ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes ('There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling than that was my voice itself, with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch') and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist ('The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever') to 'clearly unqualified' writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris's career leads him to New York City ...
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ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes ('There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling than that was my voice itself, with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch') and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist ('The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever') to 'clearly unqualified' writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris's career leads him to New York City and eventually, of all places, France. The move to Paris poses a number of challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. Arriving a 'spooky man-child' capable of communicating only through nouns, he undertakes language instruction that leads him ever deeper into cultural confusion. Whether desribing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other.
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Add this copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day to cart. $75.86, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Hachette Audio.
This is the funniest book that I think I have ever read. I still laugh when I think of some of the passages in the book - like the part where the author is learning French. This is "laugh-out-loud" humor at its best!
piafinn
Jul 8, 2011
Funny but Crude
This is a series of essays about random topics, observations of life and people surrounding the author. He is very insightful, observant and funny. He describes situations so well, I was laughing out loud. His descriptions of his time in France and his attempts at the language were especially funny. However, some of the book is just plain crude, which detracts from his otherwise witty writing.
briC
Dec 17, 2009
Very Funny
Sedaris is a very subtle humourist. Little by little he gets under your skin. A grin grows to a smile, a chuckle and a laugh. And then you keep laughing. Be careful reading this in public places; people may look!
Edritaa
Nov 6, 2008
A book hilarious and at the same time very serious under the humor A good read, covering parents with very definite ideals and goals for their chilrdren while functioning in a dysfunctional manner, and main character who manages not to meet those goals by any means possible.
daibach
Aug 15, 2008
Me Not Amused
I read the reviews and bought the book three weeks ago. I still haven't finished it. I found it unsophisticated and laboured and certainly not appealing to my sense of humour which tunes in to the writings of Alan Coren and Clive James. Sorry but Me No Like.