"Sedaris' sardonic wit will already be familiar to listeners to National Public Radio's 'Morning Edition,'" said the American Library Association's Booklist magazine, "but the venom he exposes in these pages proves he is more than a cuddly curmudgeon. Here he lets loose with a devastating comic ire worthy of Dorothy Parker. Demonstrating low tolerance for human foibles, his misanthropic humor is vindictive and nasty. More than once it crosses the line of good taste, but it's also extremely, relentlessly funny. The short stories in this collection dwell on themes of domestic hell and self-delusion as dysfunctional families tear each other apart and losers refuse to see how pathetic they are."

In his latest release, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" (Time Warner Audio), Sedaris talks pretty about learning French and loving his Walkman, something he had always ranked on the vulgarity scale "between boa constrictors and Planet Hollywood T-shirts."