Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

By: David Sedaris

Narrated by: David Sedaris

Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives, a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is another unforgettable collection from one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today.

©2004 David Sedaris (P)2004 Time Warner AudioBooks

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Humor and Short Stories/Collections, 2005

"In his latest collection, Sedaris has found his heart. This is not to suggest that the author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and other best-selling books has lost his edge. The 27 essays here include his best and funniest writing yet....What emerges is the deepest kind of humor, the human comedy." (Publishers Weekly)
"Sedaris is a careful writer, with a no-muss, no-fuss style that rarely misfires." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Sedaris' piquant essays are as meticulously honed and precisely timed as the best stand-up comic routines, which is, of course, what they are....Sedaris, openly gay, nervy as a tightrope walker, sharply hilarious, teasingly misanthropic yet genuinely compassionate, has a unique ability to supply exactly the right details to bring every funny, awkward, ludicrous, painful, horrible real-life moment into harrowingly crisp focus....He is mesmerizing." (Booklist)
"Sedaris has a satirical brazenness that holds up next to Mark Twain and Nathanael West." (The New Yorker)

The humor and sadness is palpable

I have enjoyed David Sedaris wit for many years-he has kept me chuckling and lifted my moods with his sly and clever way of talking about his family, friends, and adventures. This book is full of his heartfelt experiences that take on a humorous slant because of his wit, but also because of the way he narrates--listening to him is the very best way to "read" his books.

However, something he wrote recently has me wondering about his ability to write about his family in such a stark (and as it turns out probably true) account of his family's personal issues. I was really saddened to learn of the suicide of David Sedaris sister, Tiffany. Last month he wrote about it in an essay in The New Yorker, and I was surprised that he claimed not to know what could have driven her to such an end--because in this book which came out in 2004, he clearly knew what her life was like. I, probably like most other's, laughed at his account of her living situation which he described as an apartment like a "revolving junk shop" and her kitchen floor which had been stripped of it's linoleum and left with tar paper as a floor. Tiffany, he said, had wanted to show him her artwork -mosaics that she made out of bits of pottery taken from the trash, but he could only think about how her apartment needed cleaning. I assumed he surely was embellishing his tale of such a dismal, unhappy life, but as it turns out, it was probably close to the truth. So, he clearly knew his sister, but says in his article that he had not talked to her for about 8 years (just about the time this book was published.)

Nothing is ever as black and white as it may appear on the surface. Many people deal with hardships, heartache and sadness with laughter--it is a gift to themselves and others' at times. I look forward to listening to his new books, however, maybe I'll appreciate his talents a little differently in the future.

bk

This one made me laugh out loud..not easy to do.

Laugh-Out-Loud Funny

I listened to "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" while on the treadmill -- and there were times I laughed out loud in the middle of the gym. David Sedaris' writing is funny, poignant and relatable. The audiobook is long -- six hours -- but definitely worth it.

Funny!

in fact so funny I almost dropped the bench press bar on my chest while I was listening to it at the gym!

Not Bad, but STOP REPEATING THE STORIES!!!

I've enjoyed Sedaris on TAL and in his previous books ("Me Talk Pretty" and "Naked"), and "Dress Your Family" is up to those standards. As the title implies, there is more focus this time around on his family.

I'm getting a bit annoyed that Sedaris repeats certain stories from book to book; in this case, one or two are repeated entirely and one only in part, as a lead-in to a different version of the story. Also, I found that the quality of his narration varies from story to story; note however that I listened to the CD version, which has a much higher audio fidelity than the Audible versions.

Finally, a note to Audible: the JavaScript on this review page is REALLY annoying!!!!

Funny life stories

David Sedaris is an excellent story teller. He did a very good job narrating his own book, which is always a risk as this doesn't always work out well for authors. I very much enjoyed his book.

The reason I rated this a 4 and not a 5 is the really long comedy show near the end of the book. It threw me off track as it feels like I'm smack in the middle of a late-night comedy show (complete with drunken laughs and hoots). I wonder if they wanted to add more time to the audio as it takes up almost an hour of it!

I love me some David Sedaris!

What could be better than reading one of Mr. Sedaris’ books? Having him read it to you, of course! I only listen to audio books if I am taking a long trip in the car. Otherwise, I much prefer to read. I purchased this for a vacation by car with my husband. I knew that this would be something we would both enjoy. Naturally, I was correct! I first became aware of David Sedaris through This American Life on NPR. Thank you Ira Glass! Mr. Sedaris is a hoot.

This book is about Mr. Sedaris’ early life with his family and also about some experiences with his siblings as they all grow up. I love both his dry sense of humor and his scathing wit. Chapters about his baby brother Paul as an adult are some of the best. I’m not sure why his brother still speaks to him; perhaps he has never read the books! I also loved the chapter about petty arguments with his spouse Hugh. No matter who you are partnered with, we can all relate to those feelings. The book is also about growing up gay with a father who cannot accept who he is. The author manages to inject some bittersweet humor into the sadness.

The quality of the audio book was excellent. There are snippets of music to help indicate a new chapter. There was one odd component to this book, though it did not detract from my experience. About mid-way through, two of the book chapters were live recordings of the author doing a reading for an audience. The rest of the book was recorded in a studio. Not a problem, just unexpected.

I highly recommend a David Sedaris audio book narrated by David Sedaris. It’s like being stalked by David Sedaris while you listen to a one-sided conversation. And that is a good thing!

David is great

Since i still have my hands, david is fresh out of childhood stories. he has moved on in his other books. get all of them, you owe it to yourself. I should see if amy has written anything? I didnt know Ira glass and philip glass where brothers? it makes since? how bout mom and dad glass, they must be so proud?!

Hilarious!

I laughed out loud many times while listening to this audiobook. This is my second David Sedaris book and I am definitely a fan.

Love Sedaris

I really love David Sedaris! And this book did not disappoint! The only reason I gave it four stars is because the audio quality was HORRIBLE! But the book itself was great!