A review by kurtwombat
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Sedaris is not for everybody. Wildly divergent is a modest way to describe the reviews here and on Goodreads. The humor is dry and sarcastic and occasionally cute, a little can go a long way. It doesn’t help that this collection feels kinda tossed together.  There is a holiday theme but that feels thin and the stories vary in quality—you can feel that some have been sitting around longer than others. The collection starts on a high with THE SANTALAND DIARIES—a fantastic sarcastic classic. The next story SEASON’S GREETINGS TO OUR FRIENDS & FAMILY!!! was a departure but I enjoyed it—lucky to catch the tone at the beginning like a small wave. I can see how it would be easy to read the whole story and never quite get in sync with it’s slow decline into madness. After those two my mind started to wander. The next four stories making up the original book were just okay with DINAH, THE CHRISTMAS WHORE rising above the others. This edition included a batch of 6 new cast off stories that were passable—the exception being SIX TO EIGHT BLACK MEN. This achieved the writer’s dream of repeating the same punch line and it getting funnier every time. If you like this at all, I’d recommend ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY which is more consistent and often hilarious.