New Releases by David Sedaris

David Sedaris''s new collection, Me Talk Pretty One Day, tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes ("There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling than that was my voice itself, with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch") and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist ("The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever") to "clearly unqualified" writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris''s career leads him to New York (the sky''s-the-limit field of furniture moving) and eventually, of all places, France. Sedaris''s move to Paris poses a number of challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. Arriving a "spooky man-child" capable of communicating only through nouns, he undertakes language instruction that leads him ever deeper into cultural confusion. Whether describing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates, savoring movies in translation (It is Necessary to save the Soldier Ryan), or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other--"Original, acid, and wild," said the Los Angeles Times--to every unforgettable encounter."--Jacket.

Une comédie hilarante autobiographique : de la Caroline du Nord, où il est né, à New York où il grandit, pour finir à Paris, c''est le parcours finalement loufoque d''un jeune homme. C''est aussi un roman sur la difficulté à communiquer, avec ses parents, ses proches, des étrangers, la difficulté à s''intégrer dans une autre culture.

SantaLand Diaries collects six of David Sedaris¿s most profound Christmas stories into one slender volume perfect for use as a last-minute coaster or ice-scraper. ¿SantaLand Diaries¿, ¿Dinah the Christmas Whore¿ and ¿Seasons Greetings from the Dunbar Family!!!¿ ¿ all three of these previously published stories have been set into a refreshing new typeface and joined by a trio of equally charming newcomers. This drinking man¿s companion can be enjoyed by the warmth of a raging fire, the glow of a brilliantly decorated tree, or even in the back seat of a police car. It should be read with your eyes, felt with your heart, and heard only when spoken to. It should, in short, behave much like a book. And oh, what a book it is! ¿My costume is green. I wear green velvet knickers, a yellow turtleneck, a forest-green velvet smock, and a perky stocking cap decorated with spangles. This is my work uniform. My elf name is Crumpet ¿¿ ¿ ¿SantaLand Diaries¿ ¿Were I to receive a riding vacuum cleaner or even a wizened proboscis monkey, it wouldn¿t please me half as much as knowing we were the only family in the neighborhood with a prostitute in our kitchen. From this moment on, the phrase ¿Ho, ho, ho¿ would take on a whole different meaning¿ ¿ ¿Dinah, the Christmas Whore¿ ¿If you happened to stand over four feet tall, the agony awaiting you at Sacred Heart Elementary began the moment you took your seat. These were mean little chairs corralled into a ¿theater¿ haunted by the lingering stench of industrial-strength lasagne¿ ¿ ¿Front Row Centre with Thaddeus Bristol¿

THE STORIES: THE SANTALAND DIARIES is a brilliant evocation of what a slacker''s Christmas must feel like. Out of work, our slacker decides to become a Macy''s elf during the holiday crunch. At first the job is simply humiliating, but once the thousands of