Calypso

"If you've ever had fun with one of David Sedaris' hilarious, world-weary stories, you probably guessed what this book was about. But you'd be wrong."

When Sedaris bought a beach house on the Carolina coast, he looked forward to long, relaxing vacations, like playing board games or sunbathing on a lounger. In fact, the life in "Yuhai" (the name he gave this holiday villa) is indeed as leisurely as he imagined. The fly in the ointment is that he realizes a small annoyance: it is really difficult for people to completely empty themselves.

In this book, Sedaris, who is over sixty years old, carefully portrays midlife crisis and death through short stories. Don't get me wrong: these stories are very, very hilarious -- and will make you laugh until you can't stop laughing, the way family can. Sedaris has never been so observant, and his ability to make readers laugh is as unrivaled as ever. But most of the jokes in this book actually come from those depressing moments when your body is betraying yourself and you realize that in this chapter of your life, there is less hope for the future and more memories of the past .

If you hate the beach, this is an excellent beach read for you. If you hate small talk and are interested in hearing a joke about tumors, this is the book for you. Calypso is Sedaris' darkest and warmest book to date—and possibly his best.