Biittner's Book Review: Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

This was an odd read. I'd read Sedaris' work before. I describe Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk in my 2012 books read post as "kind of silly", which is not a negative thing for me, so was interested in his latest book. It is a collection of story stories or "essays". Honestly I cannot figure out if I liked it or not. I get that it is really tongue-in-cheek at times and outright sarcastic and/or nasty at others, which is usually something I can appreciate, but for this book the overall tone just did not do it for me. I am thinking that this is because I read the whole thing over a single afternoon. I think I might have been able to appreciate the subtle nuances between each essay had I read only a couple a day. All the essays just started to feel the same by the end of the book. I definitely did not pick up on the "common thread" of each essay being a "love story" as described on the book jacket. So it is not that I did not like the book, maybe I just read it wrong.

Some of the essays are just better than others though. I quite liked "Understanding Understanding Owls"; it is dark and funny and lovely at the same time. "#2 to Go" and "Rubbish" are also really good. The ones about his father and siblings just fell flat for me. Some of the essays felt out of order; the last couple are probably the weakest and I was hoping for a strong finish.

In terms of recommending this book I would but with some hesitation. Not everyone is going to like it. Again I'm not sure if I even liked it. I am very curious to see what the rest of my book club has to say about it and may post an update after we've had the chance to discuss it.