Within
the first few pages of reading Amy Sedaris’ I
Like You, I was struck by her sense of humor and the way it is presented in
her writing. She doesn’t appear to be trying
to be funny, which is very different from the Tyler Perry reading from last
week, instead, she seems to simply have a comical view on life and her
observations just end up coming off as hilarious.
Her
humor is dry and at many times reminds me of a written form of slapstick (if
there can be such a thing). The way she moves about a seemingly serious
situation, one that’s been written about many times in a strictly business-like
manner, she brings up the most absurd situations and describes immediately the
downfalls of all of them.
Just
within the first few pages, I was reminded of the Goofy shorts that Disney used
to make where you would have his character attempting to do or learn something
while he was being taught/narrator by a separated, disembodied voice. You would
see Goofy attempt something, such as playing baseball or driving, and as he
would go, the man (as the voice was always male) would talk about the activity
and then give Goofy alternatives so as to avoid the less that desired
situations he was getting himself into.
I
felt very much the same while reading in Sedaris’ book, except I was Goofy and
she was the voice. The way in which she explains the processes of setting up a
party follow a system of leading you down one path and then saying “oh, but
watch out for this” and then turning you around and pointing you down another,
much the way the Goofy shorts were set up.
Amy Sedaris has a wonderfully conversational and warm tone to her writing, letting readers feel as though they might know her. This tone mixed with her “How To” content allows for her humor to shine through. The way in which she presents circumstances and their follies back to back is highly reminiscent of the structure of slapstick and the unexpected ridiculousness, in this way, made me chuckle throughout the book.
(In case anyone is unfamiliar with the shorts I mentioned)
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