Customer Reviews

Holidays on Ice

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I read the original version of this collection a few years ago and really enjoyed it so I jumped at the chance of reading the stories again and the new additional stories! The new stories are definitely a welcome addition!

Of the original stories, The SantaLand Diaries starts the collection off on a hilarious note. You get to read bout the inner workings of being a department store Christmas elf. The crazy santas, elves and customers! Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!! starts off innocently enough as a family holiday letter and quickly takes a turn for the hilariously insane, like a lot of Sedaris's stories.

Of the new stories, Jesus Shaves is by far my favorite. It had me crying from laughing so hard. I don't want to give anything away, so just trust me, it's hilarious. Six to Eight Black Men was also hilarious along the same line. Definitely learned things I didn't know about how other countries celebrate to holidays.

I wasn't totally fond of The Monster Mash, about a trip to a medical examiner's office, it spoke to my weak stomach and my stomach said no thank you. But it still had it's funny moments.

All in all this is a hilarious holiday collection and the new stories are a welcome addition helping add additional holidays to this collection.

I have always enjoyed David Sedaris' humor, and although I generally listen to his audio books (read by him), this time I picked up the printed version, just under 200 pages. The Holidays on Ice title was originally released in 1997. This 2008 release contains some of the same stories and several new ones as well. Featured are:

* Santa Land Diaries
* Seasons Greetings to our Family and Friends
* Front Row Center With Thaddeus Bristol
* Based Upon a True Story
* Christmas Means Giving
* Dinah, the Christmas Whore
* Jesus Shaves
* Us and Them
* Let it Snow
* Six to Eight Black Men
* The Monster Mash
* The Cow and the Turkey

One of the funniest for me was: "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" an essay describing the dysfunctional world of David Sedaris. He tells how his sister Lisa brought her friend Dinah home four days before Christmas. He describes the humorous way in which his family reacts to her, and the questions they ask her about her interesting life in prison and about her experiences as a prostitute.

Sarcasm and cynicism fill this collection of short stories. You will be laughing your way through each story. If you are looking for something to cheer you up during the stressful holiday times, pick up this little book. It would make a fun gift for your family and friends who might need some cheering up this holiday season as well.

Although I really did enjoy this book, I am still a bigger fan of the audio books read by this author. In fact, I'm in the process of listening to his latest book: When You are Engulfed in Flames right now, and it's terrific.

OK, I love David Sedaris on This American Life and loved his previous books about his family. This little book was more bitter and violent than I expected. "Santaland Diaries" is a classic and a great read, but after that there are stories of people dismembering themselves, family members treating each other cruelly, and a barnyard animal being led to slaughter. Not denying Sedaris' talents but I enjoy it more when he is turning is razor wit and observations to his hilarious, off-kilter, endearing family and less when he is creating stories that seem designed to shock us out of whatever little holiday cheer we have. Sorry David!

Another collection of essays from humorist David Sedaris, Holidays on Ice is not his best work. The stories, all dealing with the holiday season, are hit or miss, making for a very uneven book.

Far and away, the funniest, most irreverent essay included here is "SantaLand Diaries," wherein Sedaris recounts his days working as a Macy's elf -- at the age of 33. This story alone makes Holidays readable, but if you're looking to begin reading David Sedaris, pass on this book and pick up Me Talk Pretty One Day instead.

This was the first David Sedaris book that I had ever run across. I didn't know anything about it, or him, when I picked it up - it just looked like an interesting, light read. I couldn't have enjoyed it more! What great stories and his delivery and writing style is unmatched! Since that fateful day I have read every Sedaris book I can find! I recommend them to everyone! This book is still my favorite. I re-read it every year for the holidays and I recommend that you do too!

I love David Sedaris. I love his writing - it's witty and amazingly observant. His commentary on daily life is brilliant and I'm quite certain that if we met in real life, we'd be best friends. It was because of this that I was interested in finally, after all these years, reading his Christmas collection Holidays on Ice. Sadly, in the end, I'm very torn with the book.

Some essays are hilarious, like "SantaLand Diaries" and "Dinah, the Christmas Whore." They share memories from his past Christmases worth mentioning (working as one of Santa's Elves at Macy's, having a prostitute join his family for Christmas). Some were published in other books of his, so I've already read them, such as "Let it Snow" and "Six to Eight Black Men" (which are both terrific, nonetheless). And then some (three to be exact) I really didn't care for. They were okay, sure, but not written in his usual style. Rather than being first person narratives, he assumed the role of someone else and wrote their story (a angered wife, a rich competitive man, a TV executive) I didn't care for those stories and found myself skimming the pages rather than indulging. When it got back to his voice, I was comfortable again.

The book didn't exactly get me into the holidays spirit, but it did bring out the jaded side of me. And that's just as good, right?

This is a hilarious book. It made me laugh and laugh. That is the uniqueness of the "Holidays on Ice" book by David Sedaris. You may want to pity the characters, yet they are amusing in the way they deal with situations in the stories. It is easy for us to relate to the characters, because we deal with people like them in our everyday lives. The characters remind me of those in The Usurper and Other Stories. I can understand why many people love this book too. The smooth writing, fabulous descriptions, amazing dialogue and gripping pacing are the elements that made this story an accomplished piece of writing.

Although I have enjoyed Mr. Sedaris's sarcastic humor in the past and found his occasional murky perspective both truthful and poignant, this book was simply too horrific to continue reading. There is nothing entertaining or profound about the murder of an infant. Needless to say I was disapointed in this book. I can only speculate that those who find any entertainment value in a story describing the torment and torture of a baby the very reason our society is rapidly sinking into a state of depravity from which we can never recover. How I long for more of Erma Bombeck's sense of humor.

The first book I read of Sedaris's was Me Talk Pretty One Day, which was a mistake since I think it is probably the funniest book I have ever read. Holidays On Ice is still a good read, although it pales in comparison. It is funny, and if your family is as twisted as mine, then you could use it as a stocking stuffer. The best essay was clearly the Santaland Diaries, but Six to Eight Black Men was also extraordinarily funny.

Seven out of the twelve stories in this book have appeared in other books by Sedaris and are reprinted here. The reprinted stories are all his typical non-fiction, commentaries on his life. The other five stories are fiction, and while they are creatively written I don't find them as interesting as Sedaris' true accounts of his own life. The fiction stories are over-the-top ridiculous. They're not bad, just not what I'm used to and not what I expected.

Here are the stories:
"SantaLand Diaries" (from Barrel Fever)
"Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!" (fiction)
"Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol" (fiction)
"Based Upon a True Story" (fiction)
"Christmas Means Giving" (fiction)
"Dinah, the Christmas Whore" (from Naked)
"Jesus Shaves" (from Me Talk Pretty One Day)
"Us and Them" (from Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim)
"Let It Snow" (from Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim)
"Six to Eight Black Men" (from Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim)
"The Monster Mash" (from When You Are Engulfed in Flames)
"The Cow and The Turkey" (fiction, new story for this edition)

If you want to read something really unusual from Sedaris, namely fiction, then check out this book. The non-fiction stories reprinted in this book are also very good with a couple of them being some of my favorites by Sedaris.

This is a new edition of this book. The original edition, which is a few bucks cheaper, only contains the first six stories, while this one has twelve.