If Sedaris were a heterosexual woman, he might well be Weedman.
Sincerely funny stuff from a welcome new original voice on the humor-literature scene.
Best known for her stint as a correspondent on The Daily Show, Weedman is a prolific multimedia performer/comedienne: NPR commentator, playwright, performance artist, regular on Comedy Central’s Reno 911! In her debut collection of autobiographical essays, the author proves to be an undeniable charmer and self-deprecator extraordinaire, seemingly proud to depict herself as a goofball and unashamed to walk us though one awkward incident after another. Her attempts to make Daily Show host Jon Stewart her “new boyfriend”—joking with him about African-American male genitalia, faux-seductively pinching her own nipples for his pleasure—are, fortunately for Weedman’s then-husband Michael, met with fright and/or confusion. And then there’s her trip to the Emmy Awards with her Daily Show pals, the highlight of which was a self-administered enema. Weedman’s essays work for the same reason David Sedaris’ do: She has heart. Though told with a tinge of comedic self-flagellation, the story of her marriage’s end game is filled with sincere pathos, as is the tale of her first post-divorce fling with a warm, turkey jerky–bearing gentleman named David. And though the topic of awkward adolescences is overused, Weedman’s depiction of her pot-soaked Indiana high-school years is effective in part because of its brevity. The author made an interesting choice by structuring the book in reverse chronological order, but that turned out to be a canny move—she grabs readers immediately with the stories of her celebrity encounters.
If Sedaris were a heterosexual woman, he might well be Weedman.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-57061-501-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Sasquatch
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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