Holidays on Ice - Book Review

I submitted some writing samples to a guy who knows his stuff about that kind of stuff. We both thought it would be good to read authors that I tend to write like. Not to copy them but to learn from them.

Enter David Sedaris’ books. I have read two of his other books. Those being Naked and Me Talk Pretty one Day. I like his style of writing. I enjoy his humor and his odd view of life. However, when he gets disturbing … he really gets disturbing. He even seems to like being disturbed.

The one word ETC Review of Holidays On Ice:

Yep, you guessed it … Disturbing

It got so bad I actually did not really enjoy it from about halfway through the book to the end. Holidays on Ice is a collection of essays about different Christmas stories he has penned. Some of them are of personal experience and some are fiction. I will break my critique down by essay.

Santaland Diaries

I actually liked this essay a lot. It was your typical Elves behaving very humanly story. Aside from Sedaris (gay identified) cruising an elf named “Snowball” I chuckled through the whole story.

Seasons Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!

This started off hilarious but then it went completely macabre. I was waiting at any minute for Sedaris to end the letter and say that he had sent this as a fake Christmas letter to his family and friends. Instead, it was a LONG fictional (hopefully) letter that ended up involving sex slavery, gossip, jealousy, murder, incest and a baby named Satan. Now that description kind of sounds like it would be darkly funny. Perhaps some would think so … I didn’t. I stopped chuckling about a third of the way into this one and didn’t really resume for the rest of the book.

Dinah, The Christmas Whore

Just wasn’t funny. Prostitution, physical assault, alcoholism and children obviously robbed of their innocence by the questions they asked … wasn’t funny.

Front Row Center With Thaddeus Bristol

This essay was basically reviewing an elementary play like a Broadway musical. It was merciless and I actually did kind of get a kick out if it. I loved the way it ended by making the narrator look like a total heel. The last sentence is perfect. DON’T read the last sentence first.

Based Upon a True Story

This was a hyperbolic parable. This short fictional story was all about Hollywood exploitation of people of Faith with a small shout out to the abdication of the faithful by our leadership. In one sense it was a great symbolic story of the polarization that exists between Hollywood and Christians. In another sense, I didn’t find it funny. I found it really sad. While it was way way way over the top, the stereotypes (on both sides) were just mean spirited. If I led a home group I would love for us to discuss this one by picking apart the symbols and stereotypes. Of the six essays this one caused me the deepest thought.

Christmas Means Giving

Why Sedaris chose (or approved) this essay to be the final one of the book … I have no clue. It is an absolute nightmare of Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) proportions. It is “keeping up with the Joneses” while on a bad acid trip. By the end of the story you get the impression that it was all a fantasy by a homicidal paranoid schizophrenic with a bent toward pederasty. It was not amusing to me in any way.

Summary

I don’t want to write like Sedaris writes in this book. I am not a legalistic reader by any means and I even enjoy (don’t tell anyone) humor that you can’t really share at most churches. I like Sedaris’ writing style in general but this book really departs down a very dark cynical path. Of course, I mean, there is a tumbler of whiskey on the front cover.

Perhaps that is the point.

Sedaris’ look on Christmas is one of cynically mocking the traditions behind the cultural elements of Christmas. On one hand I can understand it and can appreciate some of the rebellion obviously displayed. However, as a Christian, I can turn to the true opportunity, the “reason for the season,” to do good while worshipping God and thanking Him for the birth of Christ.

… I would not turn to a tumbler of whiskey and write horror stories.

If it sounds like I am offended or upset, I am neither. I did glean some character and plot development ideas. I also gained some deeper appreciation for Sedaris’ symbolism and irony. But overall I was disappointed with this book. I was not prepared for the dark turn it took. That is probably my fault, I was looking for funny and it seems that this was not the point of the book.

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