Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris

Packed with wit and self-deprecating humor, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls is David Sedaris’s sixteenth collection of narrative essays. An emotional and often sardonic exploration of family, society, and the human condition, Sedaris places his own wanderings and experiences at the center of this deliriously funny, cleverly observed collection.

The book captures Sedaris’s unique, wry take on many topics including foreign countries, private grocery store aisles, the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and stapler etiquette. The narrative takes readers to numerous places including France, Ireland, Tokyo, the Netherlands, Australia, and Africa. With ample detail and a genuine warmth, Sedaris dips in and out of seemingly mundane topics to showcase the absurd, ridiculous, and ironic traits which humanity offers.

Though the locations are varied and exciting, anecdotes of his personal life, which include observations and antics from his partner Hugh and siblings, form the bulk of the collection. These essays show how Sedaris, much like the animals within them, is searching for new and unpredictable experiences – or in the title essay, a cure for diabetes. Sedaris explores topics such as his mother’s ability to deal with hypochondria and his sister’s willingness to help someone in need with humor but also, with sentiment and earnestness.

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls is not just an innocuous joke book. Through both comedic gags and insights, Sedaris forces readers to dig a bit deeper into themselves, discovering the quirky and sometimes uncomfortable truths which make life so intriguing. His essays are the embodiment of small joys that often go unappreciated — a hidden grocery carousel, an informal language, or native superstitions.

The book is likely to offer something familiar to most readers – Sedaris often comes to conclusions which we may have reached ourselves – yet, we too remain deeply endeared by his humorous and heartrending tales. Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls is as much a commentary on the human spirit as it is a comprehensive accounting of Sedaris’s unique experiences.

For readers unfamiliar with David Sedaris, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls continues in his beloved style of self-aware wit, delivered in an identifiable and absorbing way. We watch as he discovers the beauty in the little things and we follow his journey, regardless of the whims and whimsical ramblings. With its unforgettable characters and a bizarre take on the everyday, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls is David Sedaris at his best.