Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays

Sometimes funny, always zany and surreal. Not nearly as funny as When You Are Engulfed in Flames. The main thing bringing the rating down for me was the fact that this book shuffles nonfiction essays and fiction short stories. Jumping from one to another was jarring, and most of the fiction stories (save “The Last You'll Ever Hear from Me,” “Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2,” and “Parade”) missed the mark for me. In no way does this mean I'm giving up on Sedaris. This is his first book and as far as I can tell, it's his lowest-rated. I was really pleased with WYAEIF and, so far, Holidays on Ice is a lot of fun! :)