Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays (1994 original; edició 1995)

I believe this is David Sedaris's first book. It is more a book of gay humor, satirical and a bit cruel, than of personal experiences, enlightened by humor. It's a bit on the crazy side, like he has just let go of all his filters and lets whatever comes to him land on the page. No, I am sure not all filters. He takes a subject and just runs with it, wherever his wild imagination will go.

I wasn't excited by it. I suspect others like it or will like it a lot more than I did. ( )

This was my first venture into Sedaris and I was thoroughly entertained. These stories and essays are very strong-willed none are alike, and they each reach so high and deliver that it is a great enjoyment to read them. This was great!

4.75 stars! ( )

This first collection of Sedaris' is a mix of fiction and essays. The first couple of stories started things off to a rocky start but gets back on track with stories full of his trademark sarcastic humor which I find really funny. The last essay, Santaland Diaries, is a classic and should be read every Christmas. ( )

I recommend reading this collection AFTER you've already read (and loved) Sedaris' other work. These stories aren't nearly as funny or as well-crafted and stylized. ( )

This book reminded me of a friend Trag I had at university (so named as everything in his life was always so tragic and terrible). Trag was a bit of a Queen, and in small doses his scathing wit was very amusing, but spend an afternoon or an evening with him and his perpetual sarcasm grew wearing and a little tedious.

David Sedaris is hilarious. No doubt about it. He captures Jerry Springer-esque characters with acerbic and caustic humour, and is often toe-curlingly brave in his subject matter (anyone who belittles Mike Tyson in a story must obviously live behind some serious security reinforcements at home). The first few stories in this book had me laughing out loud so often that my ardent non-reader husband grew curious and decided he might have to read it after me.

However, for me, I think this collection of short stories would have been better read in short bursts along with a novel. Read all at once, I began to get a little weary of the biting humour at times and started to crave a bit of human kindness.

3 stars - very funny but in small doses. ( )