Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

8 reviews

phantomgecko's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

It made me laugh out loud more than once, so that's great. I listened to the audio book read by David Sedaris, so hearing everything in the author's actual voice enhanced things, I think.

It was a little journey for me though. It started off fine with the first few stories, but then there's the chapter about his drug use and art endeavors. And it sounded so implausible that I mentally switched the genre from memoirs to zany little stories based on his experiences in the loosest sense only. The next chapter about teaching a college class reinforced this thought. Those two chapters were not enjoyable or interesting or funny once I thought it was all just complete fiction.

I researched the author and found out he really was addicted to meth for years, so I allowed a willing suspension of disbelief to return and enjoyed the rest of the book immensely. Things really are much funnier if you can imagine them actually happening.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

majestictrilobite's review against another edition

funny relaxing fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Drug use

Minor: Racism

ashleycmms's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Bullying

Moderate: Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Animal death

lynleybidlake's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcoholism

fern_gulley's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse

nicolaparty's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Drug abuse

Minor: Body shaming

readwithregina's review

dark medium-paced

3.5

not my cup of tea. it was recommended as a book that would make me laugh. and though there were some funny moments, it just isn't my sense of humor. which left me wondering what actually is...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Drug abuse, and Drug use

anxiousanura's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.0

This book was overwhelmingly mediocre. I've liked Sedaris' writing in the past. He has a strong style and seems to take particular pleasure in describing the most disgusting aspects of life (ex. bowel movements, rotten food, etc.). This is a great strength in his writing that seems to add to his comedic style. He didn't shy away from it in this book, but the humor rarely landed. His writing tends to be reflective highlighting his experiences and his thought processes. This book was no different, but the humor in this reflection was weak. 

The book wasn't bad. It just wasn't anything to write home about either. The anecdotes about his sister, Amy, and partner, Hugh, were the most interesting in the entire book and the most fun. The rest were mildly amusing. It's a good read for a slow afternoon if you have nothing better to do. I would suggest borrowing it from the library rather than buying it yourself.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Ableism, Xenophobia, Violence, Death, and Animal death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, and Vomit

Ableism

There is a story with a little person as a primary character. The M word is used liberally. The individual man is dehumanized by a kid and society at large.

Rape

Amy made a joke that David is going to court for rape. This is not true. It was a joke to make him hated by everyone on a bus as a prank. It is stated in passing and then never acknowledged again.

Grief and Death

He mentions the death of his mom a few times in the story. It is mentioned that his father might be using his dog as a replacement for his mother. There is also a story involving each of his childhood pets dying. It is not treated with any true gravity.

Fatphobia, Misogyny and Sexism

His father is extremely focused on how the daughters in the family look. He heavily stigmatizes their weight and makes numerous comments about how they will never find a man and must exercise to not let themselves go. Their worth is tied to their looks and their weight. Eating disorders are encouraged. His father gets pranked by his sister and is swindled into exercising when he makes these claims, but he doesn't regret doing it and doesn't change his views for a second. He's just relieved that Amy isn't actually fat like he thought.