The celebrated humorist travels the world in search of. . . something.
With a title inspired by a Japanese safety pamphlet, David Sedaris's new book of essays whips through time and space traveling, in no particular order, through his past and present. Readers familiar with his work will enjoy more tales of Sedaris' childhood in North Carolina. In "The Understudy," he recalls the incredulousness with which he and his siblings observed a live-in babysitter named Mrs. Peacock who collected dolls and demanded that her charges scratch her back with what appeared to be a monkey paw attached to a stick. Sedaris mines his present life for anecdotes that reflect his witty touch on sometimes-macabre subjects — like the practical difficulties of purchasing a human skeleton as a present for his boyfriend.