Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

by Sedaris, David

• ISBN13: 9780316010795
• ISBN10: 0316010790
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-31
• Publisher: Back Bay Books

Summary

It just isn't fair: most of us would be lucky to be able to express ourselves in writing half as well as David Sedaris does in his new book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. But on top of his skills with the written word, the author also has substantial gifts as a performer, and he proves this on the audio version of the book. In his essay The Change in Me,Sedaris remembers that his mother was good at imitating people, and it's clear that he takes after her. Whether he's doing impressions of high-voiced brother Paul, or recalling times when he and his sisters tried to win good karma by speaking and acting like well-behaved, fairytale children, Sedaris's nuanced performance hits the right note on both the opening, comedic stories, and the more poignant essays that tend to come later in the reading. In fact, for those who have already read some of the best stories in other publications including The New Yorker, the CD or cassette version of this collection is probably the best bet for furthering your appreciation of the material.Sedaris's career is closely linked with two things: audio (he was discovered by NPR's Ira Glass), and the personal lives of himself and his family. In Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, he describes fights with his boyfriend, and his sister-in-law's difficult pregnancy. When sister Lisa complains about the stories involving the family, he writes about that, too. Sedaris's latest provides more evidence that he is a great humorist, memoirist and raconteur, and readers are lucky to have the opportunity to know him so well. Perhaps they are luckier still not to know him personally. --Leah Weathersby

Table of Contents

Us and Them	p. 9
Let It Snow	p. 22
The Ship Shape	p. 27
Full House	p. 43
Consider the Stars	p. 57
Monie Changes Everything	p. 72
The Change in Me	p. 94
Hejira	p. 112
Slumus Lordicus	p. 116
The Girl Next Door	p. 133
Blood Work	p. 155
The End of the Affair	p. 172
Repeat After Me	p. 176
Six to Eight Black Men	p. 196
Rooster at the Hitchin' Post	p. 206
Possession	p. 224
Put a Lid on It	p. 233
A Can of Worms	p. 253
Chicken in the Henhouse	p. 260
Who's the Chef?	p. 277
Baby Einstein	p. 284
Nuit of the Living Dead	p. 302
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