David Sedaris at His Funniest and Most Heartfelt Yet

The Land and Its People by David Sedaris

The Land and Its People by David Sedaris is such a delight to read — compelling, insightful, funny and powerful at many moments too in its message.

Sedaris once again — as he has done in his past acclaimed books like this one — provides a wonderfully diverse collection of everyday observations about life ranging from things like his pet peeve about people who put their feet up on furniture; whether men should wear boxers or briefs and how he washes his own underwear in the sink; his long troubled relationship with his father; and about his own gay sexuality.

Humor That Hooks You Immediately

I fell in love with this book right from the opening pages when Sedaris related a hilariously absurd conversation he once had with a woman friend about the possibility of actually eating automotive tires.

Yep, eating tires.

It goes like this:

“We came across an empty lot with three 18-wheel trucks parked in it. The doors of one of them were open, and inside were stacks of new-smelling tires.

“If you had a year, do you think you could eat one of those?” I asked. “If you had to, I mean.”

“A tire? Sure, if it didn’t kill me. First thing I’d do is cut it into three hundred and sixty-five pieces, then divide each of those into pill-sized portions I’d eat throughout the day.”

It was the same thing I would do. “I wonder what percentage of people would put it off until the last minute. Can you imagine? Time is almost up. You have a knife in one hand, a fork in the other, and are staring down at an untouched radial tire thinking, “F—-!”

The More Personal and Painful Stories

On a much more serious level, he recounts many of the struggles he had throughout his life dealing with his father, including the time he discovered his father had lied to him about depositing money in his bank account over a period of years before he died.

The father had told him he was putting thousands of dollars there for him each year out of his retirement money. Each year, Sedaris said he would mail his father a thank-you note for his generosity. Until one day he discovered his father had “never put a dime in his account.” When he confronted him, his father dismissed it by saying, “You don’t need any more money.”

“Why couldn’t you have at least told me I was wasting all those stamps?” Sedaris writes. “It says a lot that I was almost 60 before I caught on. I’m pretty sure my bank sends me statements or something, but I’ve never opened them. Neither do I know how to look at my accounts online. I’m too busy washing underpants in the sink, I guess.”

Other chapters deal with his relationship with his male companion Hugh; previous relationships before that, including a woman when he was in college who is still a lifelong best friend; how he misses his dead mother, whom he describes as a really “cool mom”; saying how parents spoil their kids too much today; and more mundane stuff like how awkward it is to eat alone in a restaurant or people who play music too loud on their headphones or how he loves reading biographies of famous people or how he hates staying over at people’s houses instead of just checking into a hotel.

A Fast, Entertaining Read

One of the other great things about this book is how fast-paced it is. All of the chapters are relatively short. He talks about one topic, then is on to the next one. The pages just fly by until you’re at the end of the book — and wish there was still more.

Of course, this is just the latest collection of essays and humor from Sedaris, who has had a long, acclaimed career as an author and on National Public Radio and is also a frequent TV talk show guest.

If you haven’t read him before, start with this book — then go back to read and listen to all the rest of his stuff.

You’ll be glad you did!