David Sedaris Talks Ugly About China

sfgate.com:

The satirist thinks Chinese people (and food) are repulsive, which makes former Sedaris-fan Jeff Yang sad.

Read the whole story: sfgate.com

Comments

[Circe]

11:27 PM on 07/31/2011

Oh come on. We love DS because he is kvetchy. Lighten up, China!

[npw350]

08:43 PM on 07/31/2011

Touchy touchy Mr. Yang. Sedaris is black humor at its blackest. His work appeals to the base need that comes up in us all from time to time to let go with absurd generalities. They're amusing these generalities and based to some degree on truth. Every culture has it's idiosyncrasies that stand out to another culture.

[DawnD13]

04:19 AM on 07/31/2011

Yang's "critique" only makes me want to read Sedaris MORE! Very often he calls a spade a spade and frankly, Yang, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

[Teacher Trish]

08:09 PM on 07/30/2011

Hhhmmmm. Sedaris is not the author you reach for when expecting polite warm fuzzies. He has never been politically correct and is often marginally unkind - that's why we love him. But he is not arrogant and would write the same things about his own apartment, let alone every other country in the world.

[Joseph Schmoe]

04:59 PM on 07/30/2011

We love quirky, edgy people who make us feel smug and justified about our petty hatreds...
...until they turn their pen to something we hold dear.
Then we have the gall to be disappointed...in them.
Go figure.
;-)

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

01:59 PM on 07/29/2011

why is huffnfluff indulging yang's twaddle?

the decision to link to this bespeaks a total lack of integrity here. yang is off base and merely trying to stir a little controversy where none exists.

anyone who has been to china understands that sedaris' humor is spot on.

[HanMeiRen]

04:17 PM on 07/29/2011

I find the article by David Sedaris to be pretty funny. A little critique from Jeff Yang just provides a different perspective. China is still a developing country, not a super power even if you are told so….so there still exists a lot of third-world-ness with Chinese characteristics.

Some sea-food Italian pasta I had in Paris last time reminded me of Chinese sea-food pasta because of the strong smell. It tasted very good but I bet you would not find sea-food pasta like that anywhere in the US.

Authentic Chinese food? They are definitely not for the faint of hearts. But travelers need not worry as McDonalds are spreading across China like crazy :)

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

04:54 PM on 07/29/2011

yang is way out of line. his article is less than a critique and is more the whining of a wannabe. there is no perspective IMO that yang provides. there is so much yang could have done but instead turns his column into a single sour note.

[theredqueen]

06:14 PM on 07/29/2011

Already a fan and now another fave Laxsmi de Potrero.

For another take on the subject read "Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux it is one of the funniest books on touring China and a worthy read. Sedaris is always a favourite of mine.

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

11:01 PM on 07/29/2011

thanks.

great travel writers bring a perspective even if it fanciful and not very kind. i guess i fell victim to the charming lies of marco polo when i was a kid, and still love a good story. theroux is always a picturesque and intelligent read.