海角大神

Essay-writing superstar David Sedaris has released a new collection titled 鈥淟et鈥檚 Explore Diabetes with Owls,鈥� and it鈥檚 topping bestseller lists despite receiving mixed reviews.

鈥淟et鈥檚 Explore Diabetes with Owls鈥� was released last month on April 23 and currently holds the number one spot on both the combined print and e-book nonfiction and the print nonfiction bestseller list for the week of May 12. It鈥檚 also at number one on the Hardcover Nonfiction list for IndieBound鈥檚 April 29 list. The book is Sedaris鈥檚 newest work since 鈥淪quirrel Seeks Chipmunk,鈥� a collection of humorous stories about animals that came out in 2010. His last collection of personal essays, 鈥淲hen You Are Engulfed in Flames,鈥� came out in 2008.

Critical reception of the new collection has been uneven. Monitor critic Lisa Weidenfeld said much of Sedaris鈥檚 work is still hilarious.

鈥淪edaris remains as quick-witted as ever,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淓ven in an essay in which he鈥檚 going after the low-hanging fruit of a basic language seminar, he鈥檚 still going to force you to interrupt whatever your friends and loved ones are doing to explain to them why you鈥檙e sitting there giggling.鈥�

However, Weidenfeld noted that some of Sedaris鈥檚 topics make it seem like the writer is losing perspective a bit, as in an essay where he is shocked by how much the English litter and starts picking up trash from the ground.聽

鈥淭he concept of the world-famous author walking around with grimy fingernails and picking up empty McDonald鈥檚 bags is comical on its own,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淏ut even within that context, it鈥檚 still an essay about a wealthy man with the time to go hike around the countryside all day.鈥�

writer Heather Havrilesky, on the other hand, enjoyed the book wholeheartedly.

"How do you describe having your laptop stolen in Hawaii or purchasing property in West Sussex and evoke the same relatable pathos and longing that you conjured as a confused gay kid growing up middle class in North Carolina?" she wrote. "But Sedaris pulls it off, not only by throwing in plenty of fresh stories about his youth but also by adhering closely to the emotional heart of each tale.... David Sedaris really is that good. And, based on this latest collection, he's getting only better."

critic Heller McAlpin enjoyed all of Sedaris鈥檚 essays but found imagined monologues, in which Sedaris tells the imaginary stories of characters like a man who opposes gay marriage, less charming.

鈥淪edaris' targets, with their exaggerated stupidity, seem too obvious,鈥� McAlpin wrote. 鈥淎lso, much of the charm of Sedaris' writing lies precisely in his own voice and inflections, which he sublimates in these pieces.鈥�

critic David Shariatmadari agreed, writing that he enjoyed all the essays but found the fiction pieces 鈥渦nnecessarily vicious.鈥�

鈥淭hey drip with contempt for the kind of teapartying middle American who loves guns and hates gay marriage,鈥� he wrote.

Meanwhile, writer Thom Geier wondered if, after so many essay collections, 鈥淸Sedaris鈥檚] well of humiliation may be, if not dry, then verging on merely moist.鈥�

鈥淭here's a lot more filler here,鈥� Geier wrote.

However, Geier noted that many of the essays are still worth exploring and, unlike some others, he enjoyed Sedaris鈥檚 fiction pieces.聽

鈥淭here are still plenty of well-cut gems鈥� some of his best new work is outright fiction,鈥� he wrote.