Me Talk Pretty One Day

A new collection by David Sedaris is reason for celebration, according to anybody who has read NAKED and BARREL FEVER or seen him speak in person or on the radio. These funny new works, such as "Me Talk Pretty One Day," which tells the story of his efforts to learn French from a cruel instructor who says that "every day spent with you is like having a caesarean section," were inspired by his recent transfer from New York to Paris. He also finds inspiration in his family. The song "You Can't Kill the Rooster" is a portrayal of his sibling, who speaks to his confused father nonstop in hip-hop jargon. And there are few things that sharpen a finer wrath than restaurant meals served in absurd food towers and cashiers with six-inch fingernails in reaction to such contemporary irritations.