I love David Sedaris (translation, my reviews are very biased). I've heard he is ridiculously funny when he does readings, but I've never had the chance to see him. In the second book I read of his,
Naked, he provides the reader with insights to his childhood through teenage years as perceived by his funny, tainted, and feminine perspective. What made the book a funny read was picturing a little, unknowingly gay 10 year old thinking and saying what I was reading.
Here is a brief snip-it of David at home after a day at school where he watched the drama teacher act as a mime:
"I went home and demonstrated the invisible wall for my two-year-old brother, who pounded on the very real wall beside his playpen, shrieking and wailing in disgust. When my mother asked what I'd done to provoke him, I threw up my hands in mock innocence before lowering them to retrieve the imaginary baby that lay fussing at my feet. I patted the back of my little ghost to induce gas and was investigating its soiled diaper when I noticed my mother's face assume an expression she reserved for unspeakable horror. I had seen this look only twice before: once when she was caught in the path of a charging, rabid pig and then again when I told her I wanted a peach-colored velveteen blazer with matching slacks."
The book itself is darker than what I have come to expect with Sedaris. I believe in the book Naked, he is revealing more of the hardships he encountered in his life, taking a more raw approach, hence the title Naked. Surprisingly, some of the chapters leaving you feeling sad. The title of the book is based off the last chapter where D. Sedaris lives in a nudist colony for a few weeks. My interpretation of this closing chapter is him comparing clothing to personalities. After not wearing clothing for weeks, he could look at fully dressed people and know what their body really looked like, what they were trying to hide physically, and what image they were trying to convey. Realizing, much like personalities clothing portrays a portrait that people want you to see, when in reality the true you is something different.