Barrel Fever and Other Stories

Name: Barrel Fever and Other Stories
Brand: Hachette Audio
Availability: InStock
Rating: 1 (1 reviews)
Author: David Sedaris
ISBN: 9781594836688

Author: David Sedaris

Narrator: David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris

Unabridged: 3 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Published: 04/01/2006

Categories: Fiction, Humorous

Synopsis

In David Sedaris' world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Lebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris' collection of essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral; a bitter Santa abuses the elves.
David Sedaris made his debut on NPR's Morning Edition with "SantaLand Diaries", recounting his strange-but-true experiences as an elf at Macy's, and soon became one of the show's most popular commentators. With a perfect eye and a voice infused with as much empathy as wit, Sedaris writes stories and essays that target the soulful ridiculousness of our behavior. Barrel Fever is like a blind date with modern life, and anything can happen.

About David Sedaris

American comedian, David Sedaris, decided to put his good humor and social critiques to pen and has we authored several books and short essays that slice through cultural inadequacies and political correctness. He has been deemed a master of satire and an expert observer of the current human condition. He was born in 1956, and has many titles......humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He gives credit to radio host, Ira Glass, for discovering him in a Chicago club and giving him the invaluable opportunity to appear on his weekly radio program. He said it was life changing.

One of his most important accomplishments would be receiving a Grammy nomination for his audio version of, Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls. There are over ten million copies of his books, and they have been translated into 25 languages.

In collaboration with his sister, Amy Sedaris, David has written six plays that have been produced at such places as LA Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department in New York City. Three have been nominated for Grammys for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. A recent work is David Sedaris: Live for Your Listening Pleasure. He has also had a film adaptation of his story C. O.G., which was presented at Sundance Film Festival. The various books about him and by him are numerous. Calypso, a book of essays, was punished in 2018, and a second volume of diaries is expected in summer of 2019.

His older Santaland Diaries was a huge success for listeners, so much so, that the New York Times dubbed him "a minor phenomenon".

Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Joseph Kiewra on 2021-12-24 19:33:22

Dose NOT contain The Santaland Diaries like the physical copies. Do not buy this if that is what you are looking for

Goodreads review by Calista on May 15, 2018

This is not my favorite book of David's, but this had moments that cracked me up. He was telling a story where the father tried in vein to have an athlete in the family and he gave the son a football and that son said all he wanted to do was 'bottle and diaper it.' I nearly lost it. I was on the flo......more

Goodreads review by Vanessa on March 06, 2017

The first couple of short stories didn't hit the mark for me so I was a little concerned going in to what I had actually signed up for, but going forward I started to comprehend the authors voice and it fell into place for me, which makes rating this one hard. Although not all the essays worked for......more

Goodreads review by Anthony on May 21, 2012

When I purchased this at Beer's Books in Sacramento I had no idea it was Sedaris' debut book, I just knew that he was a hilarious guy and the cover just made me laugh, I loved it and had to buy it. I sort of went in with high hopes, a few people I know had recently seen him live and said he was great......more

Goodreads review by Glenn on April 28, 2015

After reading Sedaris's much better written (and funnier) Me Talk Pretty One Day earlier this year, his debut book of stories and essays is disappointing. The short stories, in particular, are uneven, many of them contrived, failed attempts at being whimsical, absurd or shocking. I guess he's just n......more

Goodreads review by Cassie on January 28, 2014

To all of the reviewers who put down this collection of short stories and essays, I say: Give the man a break! Of course this book is nothing like "Me Talk Pretty One Day"--it's Sedaris' first novel and has very little of his own memoirs inside the cover. Authors are allowed to grow and better thems......more