Naked (book)
Paperback cover
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| Author | David Sedaris |
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| Cover artist | Jacket design by Chip Kidd |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Essay collection |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
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Publication date
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March 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 291 pp (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | (first edition, hardcover) |
| OCLC | 35741397 |
| 818/.5402 B 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3569.E314 Z469 1997 |
| Preceded by | Barrel Fever |
| Followed by | Holidays on Ice |
Naked, published in 1997, is a collection of essays by American humorist David Sedaris. The book details Sedaris’ life, from his unusual upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, to his booze-and-drug-ridden college years, to his Kerouacian wandering as a young adult. The book became a best-seller and was acclaimed for its wit, dark humor and irreverent tackling of tragic events, including the death of Sedaris’ mother. Prior to publication, several of the essays were read by the author on the Public Radio International program This American Life.
Naked won the Randy Shilts Award for Gay Non-Fiction from Publishing Triangle in 1998.
About the early life of the Sedaris family and David's hopes to one day be rich and famous. It is revealed that the family is actually middle class.
A description of David's obsessive-compulsive and Tourettes symptoms as a child, which include licking light switches and kissing newspapers, frequently get him in trouble at school and are abandoned when he starts smoking.
David's elderly, mildly senile grandma, known as Ya-Ya, is forced to live with his family after suffering an injury, resulting in tension for all. Eventually, at Sharon's urging (who was against Ya-Ya moving in with the family in the first place), she is put into a nursing home. When she dies, only Lou seems to mourn.
A description of events regarding a pornographic book that David finds as a child. The book is passed between his siblings; Sharon eventually confiscates and reads it. David then tosses the book into the bed of a pickup truck at a grocery store, and the book was never mentioned since.
A description of cautionary tales passed down among relatives. Its name comes from a tale told by Lou where he claims to have accidentally blinded a friend in one eye.
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