It chronicles the insane parents, the unfortunate children, an interesting and multi-cultural array of Santa's and the policies Macy's enforces with regard to Santaland.

Raised in North Carolina, he has worked as a housecleaner and most famously, as a part-time elf for Macy's. Children are berated for not being sexual enough or being too sexual, for being overweight enough to play Santa but making fun of their size at the same time with cruel adjectives and discourse. I was at the Magic Window for fifteen minutes before a man approached me and said, "You look so fucking stupid.Much of Sedaris' humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating, and it often concerns his family life, his middle class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, Greek heritage, various jobs, education, drug use, homosexuality, and his life in France with his partner, Hugh Hamrick. I guess my funny bone is broken or I'm not drunk enough, because after the first story I could not hardly stomach the rest of the stories. I think Sedaris thought he was being clever with these stories but really they were just sad and unfunny. The problem this time was the inclusion of some fictional shorts in addition to the riotous autobiographical entries.

Since several of the pieces were previously published, I judge this book could have been postponed until Sedaris came up with a complete new set of stories. I have been struggling to put my finger on exactly what I mean because there is dark humor I enjoy and this isn’t it.

David Sedaris is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Public Radio International's "This American Life. The first story was my favorite, and I was grateful for the laughs instead of the above-stated tears.

It’s cynical and depressing and really I don’t know what I was expecting, setting it aside to read later all these years later. The opinions written in my original review below still stand, but I can't imagine a time when I won't have this on audio while I decorate . Instead, I will most likely continue to receive the banal information of my friends and family: Little Billy is doing this; we redecorated our pantry; Joe sure likes college. The first short story/essay is one of the funniest I've ever read, then they get blacker and blacker - but still very funny. I have never read a David Sedaris book before but I understand him to be a very popular comedian and I usually enjoy very popular comedians.My urine had roaches and stem floating in it, but still they hired me because I am short, five feet five inches. However, I think for me it is because this is a "collection" of assorted stories on a theme, rather than a whole book, which left me wishing I'd started with one of his more complete audiobooks.