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.
