Name: Meghan Navoy's review of Calypso by David Sedaris
Item: Calypso
Rating: 4
Author: Meghan Navoy

David Sedaris

'Sedaris is the premier observer of our world and its weirdnesses' Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt 'He's like an American Alan Bennett' Guardian A New York Times Notable Book of 2018 'Entrancing . . . This book allows us to observed not just the nimble-mouthed elf of his previous work, but a man in his seventh decade expunging his darker secrets and contemplating mortality . . . The brilliance of David Sedaris's writing is that his very essence, his aura, seeps through the pages of his books like an intoxicating cloud, mesmerising us so that his logic becomes ours' Alan Cumming, Scotsman If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny - it's a book that can make you laugh 'til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris's writing has never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future. This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumour joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris's darkest and warmest book yet - and it just might be his very best.

Calypso

Denis

Meghan Navoy

I read several of David Sedaris' books in high school and really enjoyed them. He is such a funny writer and can make you truly laugh out loud. I hadn't read his work in years and found it interesting how his life stories and anecdotes have shifted since he's wildly financially successful now - like purchasing a waterfront vacation property on a whim! I was in a reading slump and this was the perfect easy reading to get me back into the zone. He weaves the comedy of daily life in with the tragedy of losing his mother and his regrets of never confronting her on her alcoholism and his more recent loss of his sister Tiffany. It's both gutting at times and laugh out loud funny at times like his previous works. I'd recommend it!

Jeannette Ordas

I've read nearly all of David Sedaris' books and they're generally all worth reading. I read a few bits out loud to my husband for the chuckles and while some of the stories are a bit uneven, there's a lot of honesty about his family life to make it all worth it. His conservative cheap-o dad is pretty similar to mine, so weird.

Marisel 

One of my top favorite Sedaris books so far, these personal stories are sometimes painfully piercing, most often hilariously witty, and always insightful. His unusual perspective on the strange thing that it is to be human, is a gift of which I never tire.

Irene Alegre

Very, very funny, and very much welcomed.

Elizabeth Moore

Not my favorite Sedaris book, but no Sedaris is bad Sedaris. And if he’s gonna talk about ruining his dad’s life with intentionally-bratty toilet antics, Fox pets, shopping for strange cost-prohibitive highbrow pants in Japan, the terror that lives in us all over crapping your pants on the plane, then I’m in. Plus I’m in love with David’s father and also he stories about his sister who died finally got me in the end when I thought there would be no more talk of her and I shed a few tears.

Shelby Doherty

** spoiler alert **
           Likes:
- some parts were quite funny
- easy listen. Good light book for a stressful time in my life

Dislikes:
- not really my type of book (I feel I have put in a good effort to get into this genre and while I can appreciate it some more now I still don't want to go out of my way to read books in this genre.)
- Some of the bickering with his husband/family felt petty and avoidable

Roos Havinga

Although this book did manage to make me laugh at loud numerous times, I didn't fully grasp what Sedaris was trying to say and if there even was a common thread through the story. Rather it seemed like a collection of stories that were brought together by some recurring memories. 

Not at all a bad read, but would only recommend if you are looking for a lighter read which does not necessarily have a strong a message.

David Sedaris returns with his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious book. If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny--it's a book that can make you laugh 'til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris's powers of observation have never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future. This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumor joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris's darkest and warmest book yet--and it just might be his very best.

Omar Fernandez

He is entertaining, and a little disturbing. Great suggestion I got from a friend: listen to the audiobook, it is narrated by the author and makes it more entertaining.

Jill Swan

Easily my favorite Sedaris! I can’t recommend this enough. He’s so funny and the way he observes every day oddities are a treat. Reading this feels like hanging out with him, which I would love to do every day.

Salam Kabbani

Funny as always, David Sedaris definitely gave me lots of laughs with this book. I have been reading his books for over 10 years and they never cease to impress. 

The reason I gave this a slightly lower rating is that I found some chapters a bit drawn out. 

I also think it's really important for the readers going into this to know that there is quite a bit of content warning like familial suicide, substance abuse, and death of parents. 

I think that Sedaris takes very challenging parts of his life such as watching his sister Tiffany's life fall apart, and later on her committing suicide, and tries to make peace with these events and move forward through humor. While I think this is a bit tough, I completely understand the coping method, and I think it's a talent to be able to see the light in really heavy times. 

I do think that this might be construed as crude or in pour taste to some readers, perhaps bordering on insensitive so fair warning. There were also a few crude scenes, which I personally did not take offense to, but I think some readers were. 

Overall most of the passages had me in tears from all the laughter, because yes Sedaris is that good, and I recommend this book to most unless again, the aforementioned parts may not be received lightly.

diana

If Sedaris is good at one thing, it’s cracking a joke in the middle of a situation that probably doesn’t need one.

Calypso is a book that discusses seemingly dark or hard themes, like death and aging. David Sedaris manages to do so with honesty, realism, and a dash of humor. That dry wit and dark humor prevailed in these essay’s and, more than once, had me re-reading a section over again to truly make sure I was reading it right. 

Unfortunately, throughout reading Calypso, I did find myself quickly losing interest. I found myself not caring about what was happening or being said in some of the essays. There were several I found to be very good, such as 'A Modest Proposal' and 'Now We Are Five'. I will agree that almost each essay has several different links in them that come together to form the true message or topic Sedaris was discussing and, in that regard, is something he does very well. There were others that didn’t do that, like 'The One(s) Who Got Away', which made me feel like I was reading a filler story rather than something important to the main point of the entire collection.

In order to fully understand David Sedaris’ humor, finding and listening to his books on audio is the way to go. If I had listened to Calypso rather than read it myself, I believe I might have enjoyed it more. Being able to listen to where he puts certain emphasis on lines or does a voice for whoever he is writing about would make the essays much better to enjoy. 

Overall, Calypso is a good collection of essays that tell it like it is. Do I recommend others to read him? Yes. I think there is a particular kind of person who would enjoy his work and humor. In the future, I might venture into his other published works, if only to not let my impression of him be hampered by this one book.

Daryl Houston

I liked this one a lot. I've had mixed feelings about Sedaris and his work over the years, but this one's funny and (as I think I read on the jacket copy or in a review) more personal than some of his others.

Tara King

I don't know. David Sedaris is a decent writer, but he's also just kind of mean. I quit when he was making fun of restaurants servers for not being linguistically interesting enough for his tastes. 🙅

Linn 

the "hating people for wearing facemasks in airports due to fear of a virus" really didn't age well

Laura

This is my first Sedaris so I had no idea what to expect. Perhaps this is better if you are already familiar with his work. I did enjoy it and it was an easy read. However, there wasn’t much depth behind each essay, and I could tell they weren’t going to stick to me. I think my favorite was Untamed, because I too name and assign personalities to wild animals. Right now, I have a trio of crows who walk around my yard yelling at each other and their named are Mortimer, Mordecai, and Morris. Overall three stars and I’d like to read more of Sedaris in the future.

Denis &
Calypso by David Sedaris

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