Whether David Sedaris is in his native North Carolina or visiting France, Australia or China, in Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, the humorist never relaxes his eye for detail, making the most mundane experiences hilarious.
These pieces cover everything from how good and cheap the dentists are in France, where he lives part time, to his awkwardness while buying condoms--gifts for fans at his readings--at Costco with his brother-in-law and his fascination with a preserved, severed human arm while shopping for a stuffed owl.
He also writes about "traditional" marriage and healthcare, but don't worry--Sedaris has not turned political. "When it comes to politics," he confides, "all I can offer is emotion." Rather, the effect is that of a mature writer whose opinions about equality and progress can't help but creep into his work--albeit couched in witty observations. Meanwhile, there's no shortage of fodder about his nutty family, who usually provide the funniest anecdotes.
The one unwieldy aspect of this collection is the inclusion of monologues meant for teens to perform in something described as a cross between speech and debate. They're written in first person and interspersed with the personal essays, so it's jarring every time realization hits that it's not Sedaris telling the story but a fictional character--a teenage British girl, a woman or a man with kids. Perhaps the monologues should have been grouped together in a clearly labeled section. This distraction, though, is not enough to ruin the enjoyment of Sedaris in fine, absurdist form. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, writer/editor blogging at Pop Culture Nerd.