Calypso

By: David Sedaris

Narrated by: David Sedaris

David Sedaris returns with his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious book.

If you've ever laughed your way through David Sedaris's cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you're getting with Calypso. You'd be wrong.

When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself.

With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny--it's a book that can make you laugh 'til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris's powers of observation have never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future.

This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumor joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris's darkest and warmest book yet--and it just might be his very best.

Critic reviews

"This book allows us to observe not just the nimble-mouthed elf of Sedaris's previous work, but a man in his seventh decade expunging his darker secrets and contemplating mortality...The brilliance of David Sedaris's writing is that his very essence, his aura, seeps through the pages of his books like an intoxicating cloud, mesmerizing us so that his logic becomes ours...The geeks really do inherit the earth."—Alan Cumming, New York Times Book Review

"The king of the humorous essay returns with a brand-new collection -- his first in five years. Sedaris fans will find plenty of familiar delights: His misanthropic charms and wry wit are as delightful as ever, even if some of the subject matter has changed. From his new vacation home on the coast of North Carolina, he writes about the concerns of health and aging, treating us to a story about the persnickety doctor who refused to let him keep a noncancerous tumor that he'd planned to feed to a snapping turtle once removed. We can only assume that the audiobook version of Calypso will be the perfect travel companion during road trips and getaways this spring and beyond."—Maris Kreizman, New York Magazine

"Age and family occupy beloved humorist Sedaris's latest collection of essays. His observations feel sharper and often darker than in previous collections, as he ponders the inevitable breakdown of the human body, the shame attendant with illness and age, the nature of addiction, and the eccentricities of his family. Though middle age may have made his shades of gray blacker, the wit and incisiveness that make Sedaris much-adored remain."—Lauren Hubbard, Harper's Bazaar

"Honest, reflective, and even tender...Eloquent and silly, Sedaris' collection could probably find unshakable life even in the dust kitties under the bed...He gets you laughing even as he gently turns you toward the darkness we all must face."—Caroline Leavitt, San Francisco Chronicle

"David Sedaris's new essay collection is the sharpest retort to anyone who thinks they know what our favorite curmudgeonly humorist will be up to next. His charming observational humor is still the engine, but there's nothing frivolous about it. In the wake of his sister's suicide, Sedaris grapples poignantly and satisfyingly (and yes, often hilariously) with death, the aging body, and just how far the bonds of family can stretch."—Alex Postman, Conde Nast Traveler

"David Sedaris's biggest strength as an essayist and a humorist lies in his remarkable power of observation, of detecting the humor and pathos is the everyday conversations most of us don't register. His attention and wit are as incisive as ever, but Sedaris brings a stronger sense of self to the pages of Calypso...It's both warmer and bleaker than any Sedaris that's come before."—Laura Adamczyk and Caitlin Penzeymoog, AV Club

<3

david sedaris could barf on paper and it would be funny and deeply touching. I have listened to this many times already, and I will again.

Sedaris does it again

I will never not read a Sedaris collection. He is my favorite non fiction author!

An older, darker, David

David Sedaris is wonderful as always. You will love this collection. It is strikingly dark. Ageing and suicide are overarching tropes. Of course the funny, clever, and unexpected Sedaris stories are there as ever. Enjoy.

Doesn’t get any better than this!

What can I say? Words don’t do this book justice. David Sedaris has a way of putting in to words emotions and memories like no other. I laughed, I cried a little and I hated when it ended. I feel this is one of his better books and I’ve read them all. The first Sedaris book I. Read was Naked, lent to me during a trip to Europe by a friend I was traveling with at the time. I can just imagine the looks on the faces of the other travelers as I read and could not help but laugh out loud. Fierce that I read more of his books and here I stand, a true fan 4-ev-a! Don’t hesitate for one brief minute to get this book, you will not regret having done so! Thanks Mr. Sedaris for a look in to your world!

Must listen!

Definitely worth listening to! It’s a great performance. Sedaris, and his family, is so quirky and hilarious.