Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls

by David Sedaris
published: Little Brown and Company, 2013
pages: 275

David Sedaris writes about his life in narratives from childhood into adulthood.  He explores his life and what it means to be a part of a family, to love and be loved in return.  Also, owls.

Most of these stories are his, however, there are a couple that he has written from someone else's point of view.  It's rather confusing because I sometimes couldn't tell which ones were his stories and which ones he was making up.  He did warn us at the beginning of the book, but I kind of wish he hadn't included those stories.

There is a great deal of humor in this book, some that I even appreciate, but it was much darker than I anticipated it.  I had people tell me that Sedaris books are great and that I should read them.  Maybe I just chose the wrong Sedaris book.

Some of the narratives in this book are insanely interesting, if not a little morbid.  I enjoyed reading the one about the Kookaburra and the one about the passport was interesting too.  However, I found myself skimming stories near the end of the book because I just wanted to be done reading.

There is no denying this book is well written.  It's vivid, entertaining and the humor is evident.  However, I just did not get into this book as much as I wanted to.  It's not to say that someone else shouldn't read it.  I would gladly recommend this book to someone who has similar humor to David Sedaris writing style, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Stars: 2/5

Praise:

"Wickedly deadpan prose.... Even the most mundane experience is described through the skewed prism of Sedaris's unusual sensibility."
     ---Sarah Lyall, New York Times

"Sedaris is still the funniest guy around, hilarious enough to make you want to call your friends, book in hand, and read pieces out loud."
     --Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press

"Sedaris ain't the preeminent humorist of his generation by accident, and his reluctant charm and talent for observing every inch of the human condition remain intact."
     --Whitney Pastorek, Entertainment Weekly