PositiveThe Washington PostHe’s still someone who makes his thoughts amusing for millions of people, but his thoughts have changed. His observations have gotten crueler ... Sedaris is fascinated and repelled by people, but he needs them around to feed his clever misanthropy. Sometimes his antics seem as if they were cultivated just for the story he would share about them later ... Sedaris’s most fruitful subject, as it has been for years, is his family. It is the source of both his best humor and his deepest pathos ... When something pains Sedaris the most, he shuts down his fabulous voice and lets the stark events unfold with practically no comment, prompting readers to go back and make sure we read that horrible detail correctly ... Whether it’s a compulsion or a decision, Sedaris isn’t holding back anymore.
David Sedaris
RaveChicago Tribune\"Sedaris is practically his own genre now. You probably already know whether you like his wry, well-shaped, almost-true stories from his own life ... It was jarring, after the fun and funny time we\'d had, to hear Sedaris report someone else\'s personal details in front of a huge audience. Without the craft or consideration that goes into writing, or the essayist\'s implied promise that this will be meaningful, it felt like we\'d been handed an old man\'s dignity for our own entertainment. Or maybe Sedaris\', since he also mentioned that he likes to tell audiences that he has broken up with his husband (he hasn\'t) to get the shocked reaction ... Whether it\'s a compulsion or a decision, Sedaris isn\'t holding back anymore.\
