A review by cmlane
Calypso by David Sedaris

4.0

This was my first foray into David Sedaris. I was challenging myself to read more nonfiction this year, and I think this was a very fun and funny start. At the same time, Sedaris does a really good job of balancing his tone in serious subjects— not making his humor insensitive about the gravity of the situation but acknowledging the kind of absurdity that feels like it comes with living through tough moments. 

I really enjoyed the way he portrays his family's weird but real interconnected relationships with one another. It is refreshingly honest, that they're strange and they fight with each other and have fundamental differences (the patriarch being a staunch Republican versus Sedaris's more left-leaning though still somewhat moderate political views). And at the same time, he can pinpoint exactly the reasons we still love these frustrating blood relatives of ours.

I took off a star because I was a bit dismayed with the narrative around his partner Hugh. Of course, it was just an honest picture, but it almost felt loveless and nasty. I wish there had been some balance to show why they have been together for so long.