Best audiobooks: David Sedaris
Those who have read David Sedaris' bizarre essays in The New Yorker and who have also heard him read on NPR's "This American Life" will understand why the recording of Sedaris reading his latest collection, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, is such a hoot.
No doubt. Sedaris is an acquired taste. Sort of a morbid, raunchy Jerry Seinfeld at his confessional best -- picking apart the most mundane daily experiences for humor. Very dark humor.
But it is Sedaris' delivery, at once quirky and deadpan, that will have you laughing out loud. You can understand why he makes his living this way, trying out his essays in front of live audiences, refining the exquisite timing and then kind of publishing them in book form as an afterthought. Certainly much is lost in the translation to the printed word for Sedaris.
One more note. Lots of audiobooks have background music. It is often how producers signal the beginning or end of a chapter or a segment or the CD itself. Usually something New Age or jazzy. As you might imagine, Sedaris is over the top here, too. Although how he was able to record the sound of scrambling mice on fire is a mystery to me.
