Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

by David Sedaris

From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a disembodied human arm in a taxidermist's shop, Sedaris takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to be forgotten.

• ISBN10: 0316154695
• ISBN13: 9780316154697
• Publish Date: 23 April 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little Brown and Company
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

This is my first exposure to David Sedaris' writing, and I doubt it'll be my last, but this is also the first time I've ever dinged a rating for content.   The writing is incredibly good and hysterically funny.  I listened to the audio and Sedaris does his own narration - as he should, because I don't think anyone else could have pulled it off half as well.   Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls is a collection of essays, mostly biographical with embellishments for comic effect.  They were all good, but even when they were laugh out loud hysterical, they were also oftentimes gritty and confronting.  There is not a topic he doesn't address upfront and without relying on innuendo.   I don't typically have a hard time with that; but what I do rebel against is animals being hurt or killed and/or casual references made to it in my reading.  And while Sedaris doesn't hate animals, (in the first essay he professes to be an animal lover) he is very casual about animal death and cruelty.  One particular reminiscence about capturing sea turtles I just had to skip past completely.     Everything else was pretty flawless; at the end, he reads a small collection of short fictional narratives he created for use in forensics competitions (= fancy name for 'debate team').  These were very gritty, very angry, and difficult to listen to, although they were really good.  Hypocrisy was a strong theme running through these.   So while I enjoyed all his essays about traveling, life abroad, growing up, etc., I was not at all comfortable with the casual, easy way he had with telling stories involving bad ends for the animals.  There was a distinct lack of compassion or regret in these essays and their casual matter-of-factness made me uncomfortable about the author as a person.  So I dinged my rating by a star.   If you have a thicker skin than I do (admittedly, this is most people), and enjoy edgier humour, definitely give this a look if you haven't already.   

[wcs53]

I started this book over two years ago and for some reason never got back to it. I'm glad that I eventually did, though. It's only the second book by Sedaris that I have read, but I have a few others on my shelf waiting to be read.

What I liked about this book was that even though I started it a long time before I finished it I didn't have to go back to the beginning and start all over again. Because his books are mainly short stories and essays, they are great to pick up and put down when the mood takes. Of course the down side to this is that it can be hard to get the book finished when other ones come along and grab your attention. His stories often cheer me up and make me laugh out loud. One win this book that was especially like this was 'The Happy Place', which had me laughing out loud a lot. Incidentally, the story was about him going for a colonoscopy, which you wouldn't imagine could be laughing out loud material, but it was. Probably what I like is that Sedaris has the ability to take what may seem like mundane, everyday events and make them interesting and funny.

If you're looking for something not too difficult to get into and uplifting, but real at the same time, then this is the book you're looking for.

[lovelybookshelf]

Originally posted on my blog, A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall:

It's been too long since I've read a book by David Sedaris. I'd forgotten what a fabulous storyteller he is. The versatile, autobiographical essays in Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls tell of the things that lie beneath seemingly ordinary (and some not-so-ordinary) moments in our lives.

"Think Differenter" was one of my favorites; a brilliant social commentary on our tendency to become obsessed with technology. And "I Break For Traditional Marriage" was a delightfully twisted, demented piece of satire reminiscent of Mark Twain's "The War Prayer" and Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Even the essays which seemed to be simple, carefree memories eventually revealed themselves to be much more.

Sedaris has a knack for honing in on the easy-to-miss contradictions and peculiarities of human nature, and his expat point of view gives his commentary an added perspective. Although Sedaris is known for his witty sarcasm, I felt that his manner of portraying the uglier side of society is handled without spite or too much cynicism. He helps us reflect inward, always while laughing.