Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays 
asked by shirley49 on November 24, 2006 10:46 PM
A collection of stories and essays by humorist and NPR commentator David Sedaris based upon his own experiences and the hidden perversity that can be found in Anytown, U.S.A. Here are images and blasphemies that nice people don't dare look at--blatantly exposed and told with the clear, casual voice of intimate knowledge. Sedaris' humor is born of compassion and his tales range from the sharing of cheery Christmas letters featuring infanticide, to experiences of the Gay and Famous (Charlton Heston and Elizabeth Dole, for example), to the lives of siblings named Hope, Faith, Charity and Adolph and to alcoholics and chain smokers you can laugh with.
Reviews
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I read so many reviews that mentioned the SANTA LAND DIARIES that I absolutely had to read this book...the SLD while entertaining and fun was a bit of a disapointment. Most likely because the way some people talked about it I was expecting it to be the best thing DS had ever written...it isn't. I loved NAKED and Running with Scissors (ha just kidding I know that isn't DS) and ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY and I think if you haven't read anything of his definetly go to one of these tried and trues instead. David is at his best when he writes non-fiction (or at least some sort of version of non-fiction) stay away from his fiction for the most part it disapoints when compared with his other stuff.
reviewed by ronmiller on November 26, 2006 8:57 PM
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I really enjoy reading Sedaris. I love how he can make you cringe & laugh on the same page. My favorite by far, "Naked". He's got a wonderful style of keeping you interested, you cannot read fast enough! If you enjoy his work, you will also like Augusten Burroughs.
reviewed by waltersmith on November 27, 2006 5:35 AM
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Barrel Fever
It's probably best to read Barrel Fever AFTER you have read all of Sedaris' other works. As other 3-star reviewers note, Sedaris' more recent collections are far funnier and better crafted and stylized. If you pick up Barrel Fever and have not read Me Talk Pretty One Day, you may get the false impression that Sedaris is a so-so writer whose is variably funny and witty. I prefer to look at Barrel Fever as an early photograph of what Sedaris would eventually fully develop and polish.
Many of the stories/essays in this collection are too short to give more than a cursory glance at their subjects. When you finally get to the last work, SantaLand Diaries, you feel like Sedaris has finally reached you as a reader, and you (hopefully) will forgive the previous missteps and awkward experiments in style. Barrel Fever has plenty of funny moments, but it is simply not nearly as mature as Sedaris' later books.
It's probably best to read Barrel Fever AFTER you have read all of Sedaris' other works. As other 3-star reviewers note, Sedaris' more recent collections are far funnier and better crafted and stylized. If you pick up Barrel Fever and have not read Me Talk Pretty One Day, you may get the false impression that Sedaris is a so-so writer whose is variably funny and witty. I prefer to look at Barrel Fever as an early photograph of what Sedaris would eventually fully develop and polish.
Many of the stories/essays in this collection are too short to give more than a cursory glance at their subjects. When you finally get to the last work, SantaLand Diaries, you feel like Sedaris has finally reached you as a reader, and you (hopefully) will forgive the previous missteps and awkward experiments in style. Barrel Fever has plenty of funny moments, but it is simply not nearly as mature as Sedaris' later books.
reviewed by webster on November 28, 2006 8:13 PM
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Pedestrian, insipid, and banal are all descriptives with more life than what is encountered in this collection of bleh.
It's unfortunate that the author applied his wonderful writing style to expertly strip all sense of humanity and intelligence from his characters, deciding instead that every represention and encounter be woven from identical nothingness.
After reading Barrel Fever I was left with a nagging feeling that I had been witness to little more than the kidnap of many perfectly innocent words for the ransom of a contracted book release.
It's unfortunate that the author applied his wonderful writing style to expertly strip all sense of humanity and intelligence from his characters, deciding instead that every represention and encounter be woven from identical nothingness.
After reading Barrel Fever I was left with a nagging feeling that I had been witness to little more than the kidnap of many perfectly innocent words for the ransom of a contracted book release.
reviewed by bugger on November 29, 2006 6:25 PM
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This is David Sedaris' first book. If you like his collections of essays, you won't necessarily enjoy this. The first story, Parade, is about all the male celebrities the narrator has slept with. Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2 is just that, and involves Glen bitterly recounting unrequited love with a cashier. Giantess is about Sedaris trying to publish some fetish erotica. Definitely not the usual ex-pat-from-a-crazy-family stories he's so widely known for.
If you pick this up expecting it to be like his more popular books, you're going to be disappointed. The stories are dark, which most people can't stand because they see Sedaris as a humorist. However, if you look at how dark his humor is, you'll see that what's going on in Barrel Fever isn't much different from his usual style.
(This book includes the following short stories: Parade; Music for Lovers; The Last You'll Hear from Me; My Manuscript; Firestone; We Get Along; Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2; Don's Story; Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!; Jamboree; After Malison; Barrel Fever. It also includes the following essays: Diary of a Smoker; Giantess; The Curly Kind; SantaLand Diaries.)
If you pick this up expecting it to be like his more popular books, you're going to be disappointed. The stories are dark, which most people can't stand because they see Sedaris as a humorist. However, if you look at how dark his humor is, you'll see that what's going on in Barrel Fever isn't much different from his usual style.
(This book includes the following short stories: Parade; Music for Lovers; The Last You'll Hear from Me; My Manuscript; Firestone; We Get Along; Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2; Don's Story; Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!; Jamboree; After Malison; Barrel Fever. It also includes the following essays: Diary of a Smoker; Giantess; The Curly Kind; SantaLand Diaries.)
reviewed by shagdag on November 29, 2006 6:35 PM