Talking (and Writing) Pretty for Ed Grover

It was stunning when I learned that our very own Ed Grover was afflicted with cancer. Ed has always been a highly regarded writer on the site and someone many look up to. It was suggested that a write-off be done for epinionators to express their appreciation for Ed.

I was unsure how to go about this. I was thinking of doing a W.C. piece but then I settled on the idea of reviewing a product in dedication to Ed. Since Ed specialized in books (his restaurant reviews are also quite good) and gay writers that brought me to a book I recently read: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. This review will be a shout out to Ed.

Sedaris should be well known to those who listen to public radio. He has often done pieces on This American Life. He is the author of several books. I read Naked several years ago. Me Talk Pretty One Day is an amusing enough title. Knowing his quick wit and humor, I was anxious to read this book. It includes many chapters on France which should be of interest to the many Francophobes in this country. There are also shots taken against culinary snobs and people who read too much.

I should clarify when I say chapters that this is really a series of separate pieces. Each piece can stand up on its own. Many of them have already been published in the New Yorker and other magazines. The pieces draw from his childhood, teaching in Chicago, his move to New York and a number of hilarious pieces on living in France and trying to learn the French language. His travails in France are laugh out loud funny.

One chapter that I found particularly funny was The Great Leap Forward. This is a piece on Sedaris' experiences working in a moving company. The boss Patrick was a card carrying Communist who hired a crew of part time movers. I recently moved and could relate to his bickering. He wrote about how he lost respect for people who collect too many books or records. I had to chuckle after enduring the horror of transporting my own CD and book collections. He wrote that he grew to appreciate stuffed animal collectors. This whole piece on Patrick and his band of miscreant movers is funny.

The title piece is about his efforts to learn French. He writes of an abusive, tyrannical teacher who enjoys torturing and intimidating the class. Jesus Shaves is another piece on this French class. In this piece, there is a Moroccan student that doesn't know what Easter is. The class attempts to explain in French without having an advanced knowledge of the French tongue. Sedaris takes some pot shots at the French for their traditional belief that chocolate is brought by a flying bell. Sedaris ponders how they could believe in a bell but mock us for having an Easter Bunny.

Big Boy is funny although many might find it on the distasteful side. It involves going into a bathroom and finding something left in the toilet bowl. It is huge and just floating in the water by itself. Sedaris is afraid he will be blamed for it by the next person and agonizes over what to do. He even considers throwing it out the window. It takes a couple flushes to get the thing to go down. Sedaris manages to make this simple dilemma into a funny essay.

Another funny piece is Today's Special. This is where Sedaris expresses his disdain for eating out in trendy New York restaurants. He writes of having a rather simple palette and liking to eat foods whose names he can pronounce. He mocks the notion of meatloaf soaked in seawater or fig leaves in tuna salad. He reflects back to a world where dishes could include fewer than twelve ingredients. He writes that "if cooking is an art then we're in our Dada phase." Here he becomes a great defender of the hot dog. It is simple, honest food even if it is made from less desirable parts of the pig.


Me Talk Pretty One Day is a hilarious book. Most of the pieces have some great humor in them. I was laughing out loud at many of them. Raging homophobes may be put off because he is so openly gay and some may not like his unapologetic tone when he writes of his experiences with drugs but I think most people will find some really funny material here. Sedaris is a gifted writer who should be widely read. He writes in an accessible style but the wit can be razor sharp at times. I recommend this one highly.

This one is for Ed. I'm pulling for you.