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Essays
In this new collection, David Sedaris reflects on what it means to be a foreigner, a brother, a lifelong friend, in essays that are "among the best of his career" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
In The Land and Its People, Sedaris investigates what it means to be a traveler, a brother, a lifelong friend. Trying on the role of caretaker after his boyfriend Hugh's hip-replacement surgery, he both succeeds and fails. He covers ground with his friend Dawn and challenges her to eat a truck tire. A ambivalent Duolingo bot becomes his unlikely confidante as he attempts to describe his family in a foreign language. Ever adding to his list of "Countries I Have Been To," he rides a horse named Tequila in Guatemala, buys a bespoke priest's cassock in Vatican City, and goes on safari in Kenya without taking a single photo.
Time takes its toll: scrolling through his address book, he counts those he couldn't bear to outlive, and realizes how many are already gone. He is bitten by a dog and insulted by a wee train passenger. A woman on the street late at night either sexually harasses him or doesn't. It's easy to agree with the lady waving a sign that reads, "Enough Is Enough." And yet, life holds much to delight in: the massive testicles of a ram, a trip abroad with his sisters, a really excellent reptile video, a pair of well-made cotton underpants.
Throughout these essays—at once acerbic and tender, playful and profound—Sedaris shows how much there is to marvel at when you keep your head up and your eyes open, observing with warmth and curiosity our fascinating human species and the lands we inhabit.
"Sedaris remains a national treasure...In [The Land and Its People] our premier comic essayist does what he does best." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A funny and heartfelt essay collection on friendship, family, and aging...Sedaris's wit and keen awareness of life's absurdities are on full display. These essays are among the best of his career." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"With his laconic delivery, Sedaris lures the reader into believing that the topic under discussion might be unremarkable, a you-and-me-in-this-together moment. But then, given Sedaris' worldview and world weariness, eventually a knotty twist or spicy dash is delivered with the realization that Sedaris' land is unparalleled, and its people are peerless. Sedaris fans will be queuing for this, craving new expressions of his signature wit and frankness." ―Booklist
This information about The Land and Its People was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
David Sedaris is the author of the books Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, 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 BBC Radio 4. He lives in England.
Link to David Sedaris's Website
Name Pronunciation
David Sedaris: se-DARE-is
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