Naked Paperback – June 1, 1998

While I'm only half way through the book, I have to say it's just a hoot. Laugh out loud funny stuff.But if you're new to Sedaris' humor and style, I HIGHLY recommend you hear him tell a story or two before reading him. I've heard him read some of the essays from Naked on the NPR program This American LIfe. I'm afraid that if I had not "heard" him and heard his personality, I would not have "gotten" the stories on the page at all. Now as I read them, I hear his voice and completely get his brand of humor and the voice he gives his mother.Some of the parts have been so funny I've felt compelled to share them with anyone who will sit still long enough to listen. Of course, my voice doesn't do his stories justice.I'd certainly recommend this to people with an open mind and a sense of humor. The stories are bite-sized but yet tend to stick with me. I do believe I'll have to read some more of his work.One kvetch: as a creative nonfiction writer and purist, I'd love to know which stories are true and which stories are "true enough"...

Heavier use than previous books in the same category, but completely OK to read.It will still be worth donating forward.

I read this book in two or three sittings. I had over half of the book left to read and planned on reading it slowly but I became hooked and polished the rest off in one night as though it were a delicious dessert. David's story became so exciting that I was mesmerized. I couldn't help liking him. He made me care about him. Picture yourself as a child inflicted with a severe case of OCD--the counting, touching, and checking exhausts you by the end of the day--you retreat to your room to lie on your bed and rock. Picture yourself as a young person with homosexual feelings in a world filled with hate and prejudice towards minorities and particularly gay men. Imagine yourself with parents who fill up their home with baby after baby but have no aptitude for parenthood--a mom who sees her son's frailties as fodder for comedy, a dad who's more in love with golf than his family, a mom whose addiction to cigarettes and alcohol is stronger than anything else. Imagine working in a mental hospital or attending a college with handicapped people and having to care for your roommates' needs. Picture yourself feeling so disenchanted with life that you find yourself shoplifting, taking drugs and distributing them, and going from one menial job to the next.Sedaris decides to take off and leave his family. This is when he travels all over the U.S., hitchhiking, working side by side with migrant workers, and seeing a side of life that is so seedy that suddenly his home life is looking a lot better. As you might imagine, taking so many risks brings him into some unimaginable situations. I was reminded that men too can be harassed by sexual predators.He returns home to take on some unusual jobs, meeting some memorable characters along the way. The final chapter when he decides to spend a few days in a nudist camp is the icing on the cake. I loved it. Nudists are a hoot!If you're like me, you'll find yourself rooting for Sedaris and laughing a lot. Sedaris has a talent for making the bizarre seem outrageously funny. But I didn't find the entire book to be "side-splitting." At 67, I was still naive enough to be shocked by some of the characters and situations. I felt like a social worker looking at some appalling people and then from time to time it was all just too funny. Some readers won't laugh, some will laugh as I did--just some of the time--others will roar with laughter throughout the book. It all depends on your sensitivities. I'm the kind of person who doesn't want everything sugarcoated for me. I don't scream TMI all the time. I can take a dose of the bizarre because my life wasn't always a 50s sitcom. If nothing else, this book could make you feel as I did that my life wasn't so bad. If you laugh, it's a bonus.

Naked had been sitting on my shelf for at least a year before I decided to read it. I have a bad habit of not reading books after I buy them, so this should come as no surprise.As a memoir, Naked is an unbelievably good collection of autobiographical essays. As you make your way through Naked, you just find yourself in disbelief at Sedaris' dysfunctional family. Everyone out there claims to have some sort of dysfunctional family, but Sedaris' truly takes the cake. From the authors childhood filled with his nervous tics and OCD habits to his teachers visiting his home while being offered alcoholic beverages while watching his mother make mock impersonations of her son. It makes you really feel for the author. The best part of Naked by far is the Ya-Ya, Sedaris' grandmother. It makes me wish I had at least one grandmother just like her growing up. If you don't find yourself laughing out loud at least once, you don't have a sense of humor :). Then the authors tales as a long-time hitchhiker while doing a wide variety of manual labor jobs give readers like myself hope that haven't quite figured out who they are or what they want to do in life. On a personal level, these tales were really what I liked the most about Sedaris. The fact that he's come out of all of the hell and many years of uncertainty/wandering to become a successful author and playwright is truly inspiring. It just goes to show you anything is possible, even if it takes until much later in life to figure it out.My gripe with Naked comes as a "side-splitting" and "hilariously entertaining" memoir. For me, the humor started to die around the time Sedaris goes away to camp for a month. From that point on, the novel's comedic aspect drops off significantly. Granted, the novel definitely takes on a darker tone up until the last few chapters, but it was my expectation that it'd be funny for more than just half the book. In that regard, the reviews and descriptions of the book disappointed me.Overall, it's definitely a worthwhile read for anyone who wants to be genuinely captivated by another persons trials and tribulations as well as how they overcame them. Just don't expect to be a comedy from start to finish. I wouldn't quite give it 4 stars, but more along the lines of 3.5 stars. As it's been out for about 14 years now, Naked is certainly a bargain for the price. So if you end up not liking it as much as you thought, it won't have burned a large hole in your wallet. :)-Travis S.

David Sedaris is a gem; fully deserving of the Mark Twain award. Laugh out loud funny, particularly the essay "Naked."

Super funny and well written. David Sedaris is an American icon

David Sedaris never fails when you just need a good yarn and a real laugh. The ever readable, always human though frequently eccentric, often awkward, you just can’t go wrong.

Such a fantastic book. He just writes so well and his observations are hilarious. You will laugh out loud. I think if you haven't heard David sedaris you'll enjoy this book more if you listen to him first - just google him and some clips come up. Definitely improves the book when you hear his voice and intonations as you read.

I received only yesterday and have almost finished it, only stopped reading last night for fear of it all ending too soon. - As usual David Sedaris is on the mark with these short stories about his growing up / family and the characters around at the time. I have been chuckling constantly whilst reading it. Another one that I will reread down the track.

ホノルルで、彼の講演会が終了後、サイン会があり２時間以上待って、デビット・セダリスと直接話をすることが出来ました。なんと、彼は大の日本びいきだったのです。ちょうど、私　カウカヒゆたか　と会ったあとに日本に行くと言う事で実は、日本語を訂正してくれと言う事で、教えてあげました。とても楽しい方でした。この本は英語版で読みましたがあまりに面白くて、人前で笑ったことが何度かありました。彼については、私、カウカヒゆたかが書いているブログ内で直筆サインも公開しています。あわせてご覧ください。