Theft by Finding - Diaries (1977-2002)

One of the most anticipated books of 2017: Boston Globe, New York Times Book Review, New York's "Vulture", The Week, Bustle, BookRiot

David Sedaris tells all in a book that is, literally, a lifetime in the making

For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These observations are the source code for his finest work, and through them he has honed his cunning, surprising sentences.

Now, Sedaris shares his private writings with the world. Theft by Finding, the first of two volumes, is the story of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet.

Written with a sharp eye and ear for the bizarre, the beautiful, and the uncomfortable, and with a generosity of spirit that even a misanthropic sense of humor can't fully disguise, Theft By Finding proves that Sedaris is one of our great modern observers. It's a potent reminder that when you're as perceptive and curious as Sedaris, there's no such thing as a boring day.

Published on: 2017-05-30

Released on: 2017-05-30

Original language: English

Dimensions: 9.75" h x 1.50" w x 6.50" l,

Binding: Hardcover

528 pages

Review 

PRAISE FOR THEFT BY FINDING: 

"The thrill of Sedaris's nonfiction lies in the absurd details of his memories, burnished with enough polish and comic timing to wonder how true they are (after you've stopped laughing). Now we'll finally have access to the raw material -- fragments of the writer's personal diaries that you might recognize from the banter in his prolific and hilarious live readings." 

- Boris Kachka, New York

"It's an astounding feat to stay funny-wildly, wickedly, ingeniously so-for more than 20 years. Yet David Sedaris has somehow pulled it off...with eviscerating wit and radiant humanity...Fans will no doubt delight in the entries that will turn into Sedaris's most beloved essays." 

- Fiona Maazel, O, The Oprah Magazine

"Sedaris fans will thrill to this opportunity to poke around in the writer's personal diaries, which he has faithfully kept for four decades and used as raw material for his hilarious nonfiction as well as his performances."

- Paul S. Makishima, Boston Globe

"A master of incisive and comic cultural criticism....Theft by Finding reveals intimate details of this literary luminary's life and mind-all told with his singular sense of humor."

- Harper's Bazaar

"Sedaris' diaries are the wellspring for his cuttingly funny autobiographical essays, and he now presents a mesmerizing volume of deftly edited passages...Sedaris is caustically witty about his bad habits and artistic floundering...A candid, socially incisive, and sharply amusing chronicle of the evolution of an arresting comedic artist." 

- Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)

"Raw glimpses of the humorist's personal life as he clambered from starving artist to household name... though the mood is usually light, the book is also a more serious look into his travails as an artist and person... A surprisingly poignant portrait of the artist as a young to middle-aged man." 

- Kirkus (starred review)

"For those curious about the mind of a comic genius, this is a great place to start." 

- Melissa Kravitz, amNewYork

"A David Sedaris book is always a welcome addition to any personal library - his hilarity, his self-deprecation, his compassion for (and amusement with) the human condition, and his clear joy at making his readers laugh out loud are all what make a David Sedaris book great." - E. Ce Miller, Bustle

"Scintillating... Sedaris is a latter-day Charlie Chaplin: droll, put-upon but not innocent, and besieged by all sorts of obstreperous or menacing folks... Sedaris's storytelling, even in diary jottings, is so consistently well-crafted and hilarious that few will care whether it's embroidered."- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"As brilliant and hilarious as anything Sedaris has previously published."

- Zack Ruskin, SF Weekly

"Wildly entertaining....This book is flat-out memerizing." 

- Laurie Hertzel, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Peak Sedaris....a real journey, and catnip for his most loyal fans." 

- Jinnie Lee and Maura M. Lynch, WMagazine

"Filled with rich and unfailingly sharp observations...There are moments of sadness...but this is not a sad book; instead, it's a gloriously weird one...This is a diary that shows us how Sedaris' powers of observation and his intense investment in his own perspective have enriched his life and, by extension, ours." - Kelly Blewett, BookPage

"Sedaris' personal essays are put together so carefully that none of the seams show; they often ingeniously build to a sneak attack of wisdom or poignancy in the final lines... David Sedaris may be living a charmed life, [but] whether or not you believe in good luck charms, I recommend you buy the book and get the details immediately." 

- Marion Winik, Newsday

"If you've had the good fortune of seeing Sedaris on tour, you've probably heard him read from one of his snarky and hilariously solipsistic diary entries. Finally, they're collected in one place for the first time."

- Entertainment Weekly

"The essays have naturally stirred curiosity about the diary itself. With his new book, Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002, Sedaris satisfies that curiosity." 

- Michael Upchurch, Boston Globe

About the Author 

David Sedaris is the author of the books Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, and Barrel Fever. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4. He lives in England.