Step Into David Sedaris’ Mysterious Mind Once Again in "Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim"

I've already reviewed a couple of Sedaris' works (Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day), and if you’ve read those then chances are you know what kind of person Sedaris is already. 

However, for those who are just making their arrival, I’ll just point out that David Sedaris is without a doubt one of the most original and intellectually-advanced minds living on Earth today. His stories are always unique and set in a somewhat surrealist world which on one hand looks like ours, but on the other hand is completely different from it.

In any case, I’d like to review another great book of his titled Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim. As can be seen in my Me Talk Pretty One Day review, Sedaris enjoys communicating his own life with the world, and that’s what he does once again in this book through a collection of essays.

At the surface, this may seem like a boring book; he talks about how he played with his sisters in the snow, how he went on a family vacation, how he got a boring job as a drink server, how he cleans his sister’s floor, how he goes to his brother’s wedding, how he eats, how he goes to the doctor for a check-up. 

Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (Book cover)
However, in true Sedaris fashion, the intent behind communicating these stories is deep and complex.He keeps referencing his thoughts he shares with nobody, what really motivated him, what he was really trying to gain, and how he was judging others and what was happening around him. 

The more you read into the book, the more you realize just how absurd the situations he finds himself in are, with the most interesting part being that the absurdity comes and goes unnoticed by everyone except him. It got me thinking that my life may be as absurd and ridiculous as well, only that I’m not yet capable of seeing it. 

If you’d like to read a very different take on regular, everyday life, then I’d definitely recommend this book for you, especially seeing as how it comes from one of the greatest authors alive today.

David Sedaris (Author)

David Sedaris


Personal site

David Sedaris is an American comedian, humorist and author who received national recognition back in 1992 when his essay, "SantaLand Diaries" was broadcast on National Public Radio.

Since then he has been publishing essay collections, articles and audio recordings on a very regular basis, and they include Me Talk Pretty One Day and When You Are Engulfed in Flames.



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