Holidays on Ice

by David Sedaris

Overview

David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two very competitive families, are Sedaris's tales of tardy trick-or-treaters ("Us and Them"); the difficulties of explaining the Easter Bunny to the French ("Jesus Shaves"); what to do when you've been locked out in a snowstorm ("Let It Snow"); the puzzling Christmas traditions of other nations ("Six to Eight Black Men"); what Halloween at the medical examiner's looks like ("The Monster Mash"); and a barnyard secret Santa scheme gone awry ("Cow and Turkey").

No matter what your favorite holiday, you won't want to miss celebrating it with the author who has been called "one of the funniest writers alive" (Economist).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316078917
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	10/20/2010
Pages:	166
Sales rank:	36,111
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

David Sedaris is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Public Radio International's "This American Life." He is the author of the books When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Naked, and Barrel Fever.

Hometown:

London, England

Date of Birth:

December 26, 1956

Place of Birth:

Johnson City, New York

Education:

B.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1987

Table of Contents

SantaLand Diaries		3	(42)
Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!		45	(24)
Dinah, the Christmas Whore		69	(18)
Front Row Center with Thaddeus Bristol		87	(7)
Based Upon a True Story		94	(18)
Christmas Means Giving		112

Editorial Reviews

It's been more than a dozen years since David Sedaris first unwrapped Holidays on Ice, but who can forget this collection of raucous stories about Christmas traditions and mishaps? Several of the stories have become twisted holiday classics; among them "Christmas Means Giving," with its competitively generous neighbors, and "Front Row Center for Thaddeus Bristol," Sedaris' mock serious review of a grade school Christmas pageant. Holidays on Ice now returns with a full bounty of entertaining stories at a remarkable low price . The six stories not in the original edition include tales about Halloween, secret Santas, and the difficulties of explaining the Rabbit of Easter to the French. Buy it; you deserve a laugh.

"A writer comparable to Mark Twain or James Thurber. You have to go back a ways to find someone to compare David Sedaris with; his talent is so huge it just doesn't come around that often."

Melissa King - Raleigh News & Observer

"Sedaris is certainly worthy of hero worship....He is a master pathfinder."

Mark Washburn - Charlotte Observer

"A joy to read....Sedaris is a connoisseur of human nature at its worst."

Christopher Muther - Boston Globe

"He's the best there is."

Judith Newman - People

A writer comparable to Mark Twain or James Thurber. You have to go back a ways to find someone to compare David Sedaris with; his talent is so huge it just doesn't come around that often.
— Raleigh News & Observer

Melissa King

Sedaris is certainly worthy of hero worship....He is a master pathfinder.
— Charlotte Observer

Mark Washburn

A joy to read....Sedaris is a connoisseur of human nature at its worst.
— Boston Globe

Christopher Muther

He's the best there is.
— People

Judith Newman

"...Sedaris has as much fun as is humanly (or elfishly) possible in his behind-the-scenes look at this particularly American tradition of sitting on Santa's lap and asking for stuff...Part of the fun is hearing the reaction of the New Yorkers who have to wait in line, pay for Santa photos, and generally go mad in the Christmas frenzy that Macy's embodies. And Sedaris, never quite who he seems to be, has the nasty tone of his commentary down perfectly."—The News and Advance

From the Publisher

"Sedaris is the closest thing the literary world has these days to a rock star."

New York Times

"...Sedaris has as much fun as is humanly (or elfishly) possible in his behind-the-scenes look at this particularly American tradition of sitting on Santa's lap and asking for stuff...Part of the fun is hearing the reaction of the New Yorkers who have to wait in line, pay for Santa photos, and generally go mad in the Christmas frenzy that Macy's embodies. And Sedaris, never quite who he seems to be, has the nasty tone of his commentary down perfectly."

The News and Advance