Dec 20 2008
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
I’ve been reading reviews about Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris for the past few weeks - it being the holiday season and all - so I jumped on the bandwagon. I have read all of Sedaris’ pieces before, except for Flames, and I’ve loved him. I enjoy his cynical wit and humor, his writing style and the people that he introduces me to. So I picked up this re-release. It was re-released in October of 2008 with additional stories in it. It had originally been released in 1997.
The collection begins with Sedaris’ temporary stint as an elf in Macy’s, guiding Manhattanites and tourists alike through the visit and picture with Santa. It takes us to visit a family where an unknown half sibling arrives from Vietnam to comparing Dutch and American Christmas traditions in “Six to Eight Black Men” and beyond, including an attempt to explain the Easter bunny to the French. I totally enjoyed Sedaris’ story about working as an elf in Macy’s - I kept flashing between pictures of the elves in A Christmas Story - the movie - and just people running around in tights. Some parts of it were truly touching, but most of it had me chuckling to myself in the corner. I also enjoyed the story of the Easter Bunny explanation - Sedaris was taking a French class and was struggling to explain the Easter Bunny, Easter as a holiday and what the Easter Bunny does in French. It was stupendous.
My least favorite story was the story of the Vietnamese half-sibling. I thought that it crossed the line to distasteful. On the other hand, it’s possible that Sedaris did that in attempt to get that rise out of me. Maybe I’m just too sensitive because I have a young son.
I do have to say though, that this collection was so fun. Sedaris has a gift for story telling that is quite rare and is uncanny in that it is accessible without being complete rubbish. Even in the story that crossed the line, Sedaris’ gifts shine through consistently and evenly and brilliantly.
This book is highly recommended for anyone, regardless of whether you like this time of year or not.
