'Holidays on Ice' by David Sedaris - Book Review

Holidays on Ice is a collection of holiday-themed fictional stories and personal essays written by David Sedaris, the best-selling humorist. Holidays on Ice was one of Sedaris' first works when originally published, and it's been re-released with the addition of a few passages, most of which have been previously published elsewhere. Even if you've read it before, Holidays on Ice is laugh out loud funny, and die-hard Sedaris fans need to spend their holidays reading this collection.

Fans of David Sedaris won’t need to be convinced to buy his newest book. And most anyone who has read his stuff is a fan; his writing is simple but hilarious. Holidays on Ice is a collection of holiday-themed personal essays and short stories. The best essay is "Santaland Diaries," Sedaris’ tale of working as an elf at the Macy's Santa display during the Christmas season.

Sedaris' family makes several funny appearances throughout the book. "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" takes place when Sedaris and his siblings are in high school, and his sister turns out to have a very unlikely friend. One of Sedaris' great skills is that he can create a gently and subtly moving and emotional story without sacrificing any of his humor.

The fictional pieces are bleakly funny, including a Christmas letter written by a suburban mother at the center of a scandal. It's dark satire, but it's quite funny, and a change from the personal essay format of most of Sedaris' other writing.

The bottom line is that Holidays on Ice is a joy to read, the kind of book that makes you laugh out loud.