funny and complicated

Sedaris writes scathingly about a wide range of outrageous characters and incidents, e.g., the nudist colony experience which is the subject of the eponymous final chapter. Coupled with being gay, that is, with the stereotypical connotations of La Cage Aux Folles-style flamboyance, the lurid title "Naked" might come across at first blush as embodying the book's scandalously funny contents. To me, however, the book's title seems to be referring more to the state of Sedaris's soul while writing these pieces. While I did find myself laughing giddily in many places at Sedaris's humorous observations and turns of phrase, the overall impression I had was of a brooding heart, painfully aware of life's absurdity and its own failings. Sedaris seems to have been born too conscious, in every sense.

So along with appreciating the comedy, I would suggest peering through the humorous haze of absurd scenarios and make out the subtle background hues, to see the real man struggling to find himself.

Read as a book of funny tales, the book gets 4 stars, because the biting humor and silliness wore a bit thin toward the middle. Read as a straightforward memoir, the book gets 4 stars, because I got the sense that even in baring himself, Sedaris is still hiding some essential self-stuff. He admits himself that he can't help being tongue-in-cheek about everything; the coating of goofy absurdity pasted on most things in the book is even a little too polished and slick. While admiring its sheen I felt I kept sliding upon it, away from the 'real' Sedaris.

But maybe that's exactly the point. Read as an impressionist sketch of the author's philosophy and state of mind, it is probably all the more real for its masks and self-consciousness and diversions.

In any case, whether you are by nature attracted to the grinning or frowning mask, you'll find something here for you.

Off-beat and endearing from page 1

David Sedaris' Barrel Fever was my introduction to his print stylings and, although it was certainly different enough (and daring enough) to get my attention, it struck me as being oddly impersonal. The stories that had the most effect involved his exaggerated autobiographical embarrassment at the foibles of being human and too introspective for your own good.

Naked reads like a jumbled life story, where years make little difference but the characters remain the same. Whether he's revealing his painful teen years or the hilarious summers hitchhiking to various parts of this country, every note rings true. Sure, Sedaris' style is still exaggerated and surreal, but that's how life feels a lot of the time, isn't it?

A trip to the nudist colony, a stint on an apple orchard that doesn't live up to its glamorous expectations, some backward lessons about the handicapped, and a slew of other selections that are both blasphemous and moving at the same time. It's pure Sedaris. I still haven't seen his perfect work (and some of it, hard as I try, still strikes me as insulting), but it's a terrific read with many great moments.

Addictive.

David Sedaris takes you on a journey through part of his life in a series of autobiographical essays - each one better than the last. If you're in the mood for a comical autobiography then this is for you!