Overview

David Sedaris returns with his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious book. If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris' 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' 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' darkest and warmest book yet--and it just might be his very best.

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9781549198311

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Reviews

Sedaris shines in tales of family, loss, and a favorite turtle...[which] Sedaris' wry voice enhances. -- USA Today Grapples seriously with themes of family, mortality, and illness. As always, his very essence seeps through the pages like an intoxicating cloud. -- New York Times Book Review The king of the humorous essay returns...Sedaris fans will find plenty of familiar delights: His misanthropic charms and wry wit are as delightful as ever, even if some of the subject matter has changed....The audiobook version of Calypso will be the perfect travel companion during road trips and getaways this spring and beyond. -- New York magazine Sedaris' new story collection is earthy, to say the least-concerned with all the gross things that happen as we live and age but also full of wonder at his life and appreciation for his family. -- NPR Chock-full of Sedaris' signature brand of laugh-out-loud humor, interlaced with moments of introspection and melancholy that will hit you like an arrow to the heart. -- Shondaland Sedaris hasn't lost his capacity for bemused observations of the people he encounters...But bad news has sharpened the author's humor, and this book is defined by a persistent, engaging bafflement over how seriously or unseriously to take life when it's increasingly filled with Trump and funerals. Sedaris at his darkest-and his best. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Twenty-one essays largely about family bonds and getting older in this hilarious yet tender volume...Fans and newcomers alike will be richly rewarded by this sidesplitting collection. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) The latest essay collection by humorist David Sedaris humorist is a meditation on aging. It's a sardonic one at that, that he narrates himself in his quintessential tongue-in-cheek fashion. It's a good thing he does because the listener gets the sense that only Sedaris could balance the witty observations alongside the heartrending sadness of life...Fans of Sedaris, who may well be in the middle of their own lives by now, will listen along, laughing, and perhaps wiping away a few tears. -- AudioFile

Chock-full of Sedaris' signature brand of laugh-out-loud humor, interlaced with moments of introspection and melancholy that will hit you like an arrow to the heart. -- Shondaland Grapples seriously with themes of family, mortality, and illness. As always, his very essence seeps through the pages like an intoxicating cloud. -- New York Times Book Review Sedaris hasn't lost his capacity for bemused observations of the people he encounters...But bad news has sharpened the author's humor, and this book is defined by a persistent, engaging bafflement over how seriously or unseriously to take life when it's increasingly filled with Trump and funerals. Sedaris at his darkest-and his best. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Sedaris shines in tales of family, loss, and a favorite turtle...[which] Sedaris' wry voice enhances. -- USA Today Sedaris' new story collection is earthy, to say the least-concerned with all the gross things that happen as we live and age but also full of wonder at his life and appreciation for his family. -- NPR The king of the humorous essay returns...Sedaris fans will find plenty of familiar delights: His misanthropic charms and wry wit are as delightful as ever, even if some of the subject matter has changed....The audiobook version of Calypso will be the perfect travel companion during road trips and getaways this spring and beyond. -- New York magazine The latest essay collection by humorist David Sedaris humorist is a meditation on aging. It's a sardonic one at that, that he narrates himself in his quintessential tongue-in-cheek fashion. It's a good thing he does because the listener gets the sense that only Sedaris could balance the witty observations alongside the heartrending sadness of life...Fans of Sedaris, who may well be in the middle of their own lives by now, will listen along, laughing, and perhaps wiping away a few tears. -- AudioFile Twenty-one essays largely about family bonds and getting older in this hilarious yet tender volume...Fans and newcomers alike will be richly rewarded by this sidesplitting collection. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The latest essay collection by humorist David Sedaris humorist is a meditation on aging. It's a sardonic one at that, that he narrates himself in his quintessential tongue-in-cheek fashion. It's a good thing he does because the listener gets the sense that only Sedaris could balance the witty observations alongside the heartrending sadness of life...Fans of Sedaris, who may well be in the middle of their own lives by now, will listen along, laughing, and perhaps wiping away a few tears. -- AudioFile Twenty-one essays largely about family bonds and getting older in this hilarious yet tender volume...Fans and newcomers alike will be richly rewarded by this sidesplitting collection. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Sedaris hasn't lost his capacity for bemused observations of the people he encounters...But bad news has sharpened the author's humor, and this book is defined by a persistent, engaging bafflement over how seriously or unseriously to take life when it's increasingly filled with Trump and funerals. Sedaris at his darkest-and his best. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Chock-full of Sedaris' signature brand of laugh-out-loud humor, interlaced with moments of introspection and melancholy that will hit you like an arrow to the heart. -- Shondaland Sedaris' new story collection is earthy, to say the least-concerned with all the gross things that happen as we live and age but also full of wonder at his life and appreciation for his family. -- NPR The king of the humorous essay returns...Sedaris fans will find plenty of familiar delights: His misanthropic charms and wry wit are as delightful as ever, even if some of the subject matter has changed....The audiobook version of Calypso will be the perfect travel companion during road trips and getaways this spring and beyond. -- New York magazine Grapples seriously with themes of family, mortality, and illness. As always, his very essence seeps through the pages like an intoxicating cloud. -- New York Times Book Review Sedaris shines in tales of family, loss, and a favorite turtle...[which] Sedaris' wry voice enhances. -- USA Today

Author Information

David Sedaris is the author of the books Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Barrel Fever. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Public Radio International's This American Life. He lives in England. David Sedaris is the author of the books Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Barrel Fever. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Public Radio International's This American Life. He lives in England.

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