Me Talk Pretty One Day

David Sedaris' new collection, Me Talk Pretty One Day, tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist to "clearly unqualified" writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris' career leads him to New York and eventually, of all places, France. Sedaris' move to Paris poses a number of challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. Capable of communicating only through nouns, he undertakes language instruction that leads him ever deeper into cultural confusion. Whether describing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates, savoring movies in translation or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like none other.