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Happy-Go-Lucky Hardcover – May 31, 2022

by David Sedaris (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,709 ratings
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David Sedaris, the “champion storyteller,” (Los Angeles Times) returns with his first new collection of personal essays since the bestselling Calypso

Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes.
 
But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most. To cope, he walks for miles through a nearly deserted city, smelling only his own breath. He vacuums his apartment twice a day, fails to hoard anything, and contemplates how sex workers and acupuncturists might be getting by during quarantine.
 
As the world gradually settles into a new reality, Sedaris too finds himself changed. His offer to fix a stranger’s teeth rebuffed, he straightens his own, and ventures into the world with new confidence. Newly orphaned, he considers what it means, in his seventh decade, no longer to be someone’s son. And back on the road, he discovers a battle-scarred America: people weary, storefronts empty or festooned with Help Wanted signs, walls painted with graffiti reflecting the contradictory messages of our time: Eat the Rich. Trump 2024. Black Lives Matter.
 
In Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris once again captures what is most unexpected, hilarious, and poignant about these recent upheavals, personal and public, and expresses in precise language both the misanthropy and desire for connection that drive us all. If we must live in interesting times, there is no one better to chronicle them than the incomparable David Sedaris.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Little, Brown and Company
  4. Publication date
    May 31, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    8.5 x 1 x 5.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0316392456
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0316392457
  8. See all details
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  1. Saul Bellow wrote, “Losing a parent is something like driving through a plate-glass window. You didn’t know it was there until it shattered, and then for years to come you’re picking up the pieces.”
    Highlighted by 305 Kindle readers
  2. It’s night, and a cop stops a car a couple of priests are riding in. “I’m looking for two child molesters,” he tells them. The priests think for a moment. “We’ll do it!” they say.
    Highlighted by 279 Kindle readers
  3. The terrible shame about the pandemic in the United States is that more than nine hundred thousand people have died to date, and I didn’t get to choose a one of them.
    Highlighted by 242 Kindle readers
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  2. Me Talk Pretty One Day
    Calypso
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    Naked

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From the Publisher

David Sedaris Happy-Go-Lucky

David Sedaris Shopping for Culottes in Japan

David Sedaris - Trekking masked through a city emptied by the pandemic

David Sedaris Reckoning with his father's final years

A carnival of Snackery The Best of Me Calypso Theft by Finding
Carnival of Snackery The Best of Me Calypso Theft by Finding
Customer Reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
3,702
4.6 out of 5 stars
5,415
4.4 out of 5 stars
16,087
4.4 out of 5 stars
4,179
Price $9.79 $17.99 $15.99 $10.99

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Sublimely funny… Sedaris is back, doing the thing his readers have come to adore: offering up wry, moving, punchy stories about his oddball family… The pieces range widely, following the path of Sedaris’s travels and his eccentric mind, but a through line involves his nonagenarian father… This is one of the more complicated relationships of Sedaris’s life, and he is unflinching as he tries to understand who his enigmatic father was, and how living with him altered the shape of his own existence.”―Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic

“Sedaris’ signature wit has always thrived on the macabre, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that Happy-Go-Lucky is some of his darkest—and most astute—writing yet… No topic is out of bounds for Sedaris’ acerbic humor and sharp observations.”―Time

“Sedaris is funny—invariably. That’s his gift… Even amid the overwhelming gloom of the pandemic, a summer of unrest and the death of a father toward whom he still has complicated feelings, Sedaris never loses his wit or his crack timing.”―Tyler Malone, Los Angeles Times

“Consistently funny… when you’re dealing with a talent as outsize as Sedaris’s, even the missteps are fairly negligible… Rather, the lasting impression of “Happy-Go-Lucky” is similar to that of Sedaris’s other books: It’s a neat trick that one writer’s preoccupation with the odd and the inappropriate can have such widespread appeal.”―Henry Alford, New York Times Book Review

“Comically blistering… David Sedaris is the standard against which all other humor essayists are judged, the overwhelming heavyweight of the genre… Happy-Go-Lucky could serve as a textbook to readers dealing with the end times of their own parents with whom they don’t get along.”―Brian Boone, Vulture

“A new collection of poignant, honest and funny essays… Sedaris is simultaneously amusing and brutal while unflinchingly exposing the ironies of his family and life in general.”―Anita Snow, Associated Press

“Engaging… Sedaris recounts his lockdown experience with his customary blend of wry self-deprecation and affable misanthropy.”―Houman Barekat, The Guardian

"Hilarious… much of Sedaris’ humor comes from saying the quiet parts out loud—writing frankly about things most of us never mention."―Collette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times

“Sedaris, a perennial contrarian, has entered into a comfortable late-middle age that could sink a less determined writer… Happily for Sedaris’s fans, it will take more than prosperity to mellow him out: His trademark black humor and puckish misanthropy remain.”―James Tarmy, Bloomberg

“The older Sedaris gets, the funnier he gets—if you don’t mind your laugh out loud humor tempered with self-knowledge and compassion."―Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times

“Sedaris has long been frank about his lifelong disconnect with his father, but he has reflected more openly — and movingly — about it since his father reached his nineties… Happy-Go-Lucky is more somber than Sedaris' usual fare, but there are some fresh, funny bits wedged between the weighty boulders.”―Heller McAlpin, NPR

“Happy-Go-Lucky is like a reminder of an old friend who can still make you laugh out loud, but with a poignance now.”―Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune

“Sedaris's many fans will be filling up reserve lists for a fresh infusion of his unique candor and comedy… though his tone is more poignant than pointed, the essential Sedaris humor reassuringly endures. Amid the barbed quips, there is genuine sorrow, an empathy born of arduous experience.”―Carol Haggas, Booklist (starred review)

“A sweet-and-sour set of pieces on loss, absurdity, and places they intersect… Sedaris remains stubbornly irreverent even in the face of pandemic lockdowns and social upheaval.”―Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

David Sedaris is the author of twelve previous books, including, most recently, A Carnival of Snackery, The Best of Me, and Calypso. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4. In 2019, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, the Jonathan Swift International Literature Prize for Satire and Humor, and the Terry Southern Prize for Humor.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company; First Edition (May 31, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316392456
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316392457
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 1 x 5.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,709 ratings

About the author

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David Sedaris

David Sedaris

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David Sedaris lives in Paris. Raised in North Carolina, he has worked as a housecleaner and most famously, as a part-time elf for Macy's. Several of his plays have been produced, and he is a regular contributor to ESQUIRE and Public Radio International's 'This American Life'.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
6,709 global ratings
Another Wonderful Collection!
5 Stars
Another Wonderful Collection!
David Sedaris has been one of my very favorite authors since I first picked up my college roommate's copy of [book:Naked|4138]. I am always so excited for new material from him - and though two of these essays here had already appeared in The New Yorker, this collection still has plenty of new stuff. The decline and death of his father, Lou, really dominates this collection - along with the pandemic. There are, as always, laugh-out-loud moments, clever turns-of-phrase and intimate candor that is so intrinsically his style. I always enjoy listening to Sedaris read his work - just as I enjoy reading it aloud myself to share with others. I actually listened to this one, as well as read the majority out loud to my aunt. The gunderpants especially got a good laugh. And this was the last book she heard the ending to, as well, so I know that my own grief will always be tied up with this book. He really is my favorite essayist and as always, I am eager to read his next collection!
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Top reviews from the United States

Deborah Middleton
5.0 out of 5 stars funny! and separate chapters
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2024
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Great book for reading on a plane or waiting for appointments. The chapters are only loosely related so you can pick this up and put it down easily.
Sedaris is his usual delightful combination of self deprecating while also looking down on many of his fellow human beings. Like most of his books this is humorous and also touching. The honest way he talks about his father’s death is engaging and the recent Covid19 lockdowns along with the BLM protests reinforced a lot of feelings I had, but might not express so well.
2 people found this helpful
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Lisa Rivera
5.0 out of 5 stars Adored
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
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This is one of Sedaris’ funniest, most endearing books. I laughed outloud and had tears. Very meaty on family dynamics, especially about his dad. Brave and truthful.
4 people found this helpful
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Mal Gormley
4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky & Funny-ish
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2023
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This was not my first Sedaris. Me Talk Pretty One Day was my intro and it a great read. Corduroy fell flat and I didn't read any more for years, until seeing
Happy Go Lucky reviewed in The Times. This book is subtle and sad in many ways, but then I'd bust out laughing like the good old days. I'm gonna have to catch up.
8 people found this helpful
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suzy
5.0 out of 5 stars A more thoughtful Sedaris, still entertaining with laughter-provoking prose
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2023
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The collection of essays/stories is more wonderful humor from David Sedaris. Some of the topics have been covered in the New Yorker before, and there is definitely a sadder tone to some of the essays, naturally, as they deal with his father’s death and that of his sister. That being said, this is a maturing (in a good way!) Sedaris as he goes through this stage in his life (success, getting older, health issues - his own and those who he cares for — contrasted with a younger, less successful David like the tales in Barrel Fever and Me Talk Pretty One Day. So it might not be my favorite of all his books (yes, I confess to having all of them), but still found it entertaining and at times heart wrenching. It still deserves 5 stars, as Sedaris is one of the best, funniest writers alive today (IMHO)!
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5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful read.
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2024
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The book is so well written. It will make you laugh more times than you can count. I love David's take on his family , he loves his family but finds the funny in them. I have read most of his books and have enjoyed them all.
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J. Godfrey
5.0 out of 5 stars For a good belly laugh….
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2024
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Love David Sedaris! The only author that can make me laugh uncontrollably out loud every single book! Thank you David!
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Timothy Haugh
4.0 out of 5 stars Humor in Difficult Time
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2022
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Though I find his work uneven, I am a great admirer of Mr. Sedaris. I know when I read one of his books, I am going to laugh out loud on multiple occasions, and this book was no exception. As a writer who has never been able to write funny, I find myself often in awe of those who can do this.

The topics of the essays here are focused on the pandemic and the loss of his father. It doesn’t seem like good fodder for humor, but there is plenty of it here. I am especially taken by what appears to be good relationships with his siblings, despite their typical dysfunction, which is what makes it funny. And there is also his relationship with his long-suffer partner, Hugh. Of course, as always, some of the humor misses but the good outweighs the bad by a solid degree here.

I was surprised to learn recently that my own father reads and enjoys Mr. Sedaris. At first, I thought it a strange thing for him to like, but I realized that he likely finds the family interactions as funny as I do. My father and my tastes rarely seem to coincide. In this case, I think it adds an extra recommendation to my own.
22 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars When darkness meets humor
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2024
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David Sedaris brings darkness to light in Happy-Go-Lucky. His honesty and craft to illuminate humor during challenging moments brings the reader that sense of “I am not alone.” A must read for sure!
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Top reviews from other countries

Kelly Warrington
5.0 out of 5 stars Clowns on the cover says it all
Reviewed in Canada on March 10, 2024
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Great read all the way, real life from a different or maybe similar point of view, definitely laughed in every chapter.
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od
1.0 out of 5 stars Funny? Boring!
Reviewed in Germany on February 18, 2024
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After all the positive comments I expected a lot. Read the first three chapters and was disappointed. Not even a smile came on my face. It’s not even interesting or written in a beautiful language. More like an essay from a teenager
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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent condition and print
Reviewed in India on August 29, 2023
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For personal entertainment
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BRISTOLSTEVE69
5.0 out of 5 stars More rambling tales
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2023
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If you have read David Sedaris before, you know just how clever and witty his stories are, if you are unfamiliar with his style, this is a great place to start.
He is the master of the brilliantly observed rambling tale, a great story teller who can transport the reader to a different place with consummate ease.
His stories are engaging and funny, and often uplifting.
He did a series on monologues for the BBC radio, they should be available on iPlayer, I would thoroughly encourage you give them a listen, once you've heard his voice and delivery, you will immediately be gifted with the voice that brings the narrative to life.
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J. Fox
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny stuff
Reviewed in the Netherlands on November 8, 2022
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Not his best book but funny and entertaining all the same!
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