Holidays on Ice: Stories

Avid NPR listeners will instantly recognize the first essay in this book, "Santaland Diaries"; the author's reading of that story is their single most requested encore. His description of becoming a Christmas Elf at Macy's is a true guilty pleasure; scathingly unkind and screamingly funny. If you ever held an undignified job, this is somehow your story - even if you never (pardon the pun) stooped so low as to play an elf.

Sedaris writes like a post-modern Mark Twain, with a dry and piercing wit that drips with charm and cynicism in equal measure. His is the kind of writing that makes me go back to re-read a sentence, a paragraph, even a whole story hoping to savor some particular gem I only wish I'd written. His tone is often dark, even bleak, but there's a wry quality in his stories that lets you know he's really doing it all for effect - setting you up for an even bigger laugh because you know he's enjoying every minute of telling his sad, hilarious stories.

Get in on his story now so you can savor the feeling of waiting impatiently for his next book - and there's no better way to start than to read Holidays on Ice.


Read right before Christmas for great laugh!   August 11, 2001
 34 out of 39 found this review helpful

This book was a really fantastic collection of 6 short stories regarding the holiday season. I had heard so much about David Sedaris and what a talented satirical writer he was, and I was much impressed by his ability to parody the American publics love/hate relationship during the holiday season. His life as an elf in the Macys's shopping store in New York had me laughing out loud. And the upbeat Christmas letter that includes the introduction of a Vietamese stepchild was hilarious.

I finished the book in two days of light reading and realized the author is truly dark and twisted but extremely talented. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is next on my list. I guarantee you'll like this book, but just to add to the fervor of the writing, I suggest you read it a week before Christmas during your most hellish and frantic points of your life; it'll add to the hilarity of your situation.


Excellent twist to the usual holiday fare.   July 15, 2000
 27 out of 34 found this review helpful

David Sedaris has a sick sense of humor, and he conveys it well in this book of Christmas shorts. It opens with the extremely funny "Santaland Diaries", giving an insider's view of elves at Macy's. Next comes "Season's Greetings", an overenthusiastic 'family newsletter' that spins off into satirical tangents with the unexpected addition of a Vietnamese daughter. "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" tells of young David's encounter with his father's "Christmas present" ::wink:: "Front Row with Thaddeus Bristol" is a theatrical review of the Christmas pageants in the elementary schools (we've all had to suffer). "Based on a True Story" is a somewhat sickeningly funny look at a hustler trying to gather holiday special ideas. Finally, "Christmas Means Giving" rounds out the collection, telling of two families who can't stop competing with each other. I'm a newcomer to Sedaris's wit, and the next book on my list is 'Naked'. This was a great way to be introduced without being overwhelmed--even if they are Christmas stories being read in July.


Sedaris...Funny, Intelligent, High CQ   November 7, 1999
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

Actually, I toyed with giving this five-stars. However, I figure I should employ five-stars for IMPORTANT literary treasures, such as the collected works of Shakespeare, "War and Peace," and "Valley of the Dolls." So, need a laugh? Well, any of Sedaris' books will do. They..."Barrel Fever" and the even better "Naked"...are funny, provocative, and full of weird and colorful people. While "Holidays on Ice" takes from his other books, it is a veritable laugh-o-rama. And "SantaLand Diaries"? I have read it a half-dozen times, and I STILL chortle merrily. David, what are you writing? This Midtowner wants more. And, folks, not only is Sedaris an intelligent, witty writer and essayist, he is just as cute as a button. I enjoy getting his books so I can see his little impish face peering out from the end page. And, really, when it comes right down to it, isn't that what it's all about: the author's CQ (Cute Quotient)?


SantaLand Diaries   August 22, 2001
 14 out of 18 found this review helpful

Sedaris shines when his essays focus on real characters and events. His pieces on family life and French expatriate living in Me Talk Pretty One Day stand out as examples.

Holidays on Ice features fewer such gems. Most of the stories here are fictional, and in my opinion do not work nearly as well. The standout exception, however, is the hilarious SantaLand Diaries, one of the funniest things I've ever read and which in itself is well worth the price of the book. This is the real-life story of Sedaris' stint as a Macy's SantaLand elf. Sedaris focuses on our collective stupidity, but as always he mixes in just the right amount of self-depreciation to make the piece come off perfectly.

I believe that it was Tom Clancey that said that the difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense. The figures in SantaLand Diaries (elves, Santas, and the Great American Public) behave just irrationally enough that the story has to be true. Ironically, aside from being hilariously funny Sedaris uses all of this illogical behavior to give us an interesting look at human nature.

This is a two star book that is saved by a five star story. Buy it and read the last thirty pages.