David Sedaris is the narrator and central figure behind each chapter of the book. Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, he is the oldest son of a family of five children. In his recollections of his childhood, he reveals himself to be an imaginative child whose fantasies often land him in trouble with his parents and other authority figures. When he’s not faking overcoming his speech impediment, he is experimenting with mayonnaise as substitute insect repellant. In each instance, he demonstrates his cleverness and capacity for creative thought, oftentimes for humorous effect.

This imagination follows him well into adulthood as a storyteller and once briefly successful visual artist. While he reveals his earlier struggles with addiction to methamphetamine and alcoholism, he always tempers the gravity of these obstacles with comedic narration and self-deprecatory humor that highlights his initial arrogance and folly. His narrative voice reflects this balance through its sardonic tone, finding humor through critical observations of other people’s strange behavior and implicating his own oddness in the process.

David has been aware of his homosexuality from an early age. His sexuality, in addition to his aversion to sports and other conventionally masculine

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now