Books

Get ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ with David Sedaris

The author will stop by Plainville’s An Unlikely Story bookstore on June 11 at 6 p.m.

David Sedaris. Handout / Ingrid Christie

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You can always count on David Sedaris to reflect on an odd situation and find the humor. Whether it’s about removing a tumor and grappling with middle age in “Calypso” or purchasing a giant box of condoms at Costco in “Author, Author.”

In “Happy-Go-Lucky,” his latest essay collection which was released on May 31, Sedaris reflects on the past few years, from his complicated relationship with his late father Lou, who died in 2021 at 98, to his observations on the Black Lives Matter movement and considering his own biases.

The best-selling author and humorist has written 12 previous books, won numerous awards including the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and is a contributor to The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4. New York Times called the book “consistently funny,” though other outlets like Star Tribune have noted Sedaris’s latest essays take on a more “somber vein,” including one about his late sister Tiffany’s claims of sexual abuse. NPR wrote “Sedaris is less intent on garnering laughs than in gauging his feelings.”

However, the author’s signature humor remains in “Happy-Go-Lucky” with Publisher’s Weekly noting, “As always, Sedaris has a knack for finding where the blithe and innocent intersect with the tawdry and lurid.”

The author will stop by Plainville’s An Unlikely Story bookstore on Saturday, June 11 at 6 p.m. for a short reading from the book and a discussion with moderator Cindy House, author of “Mother Noise” and Sedaris’s former student. Tickets include a copy of “Happy-Go-Lucky,” and a meet and greet with the author where you can have the book signed and personalized.