“The Book of Liz” by The Talent Family, Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris

If I was able to come back as an object in my next life, I think I would like to be a Samuel French or Dramatists Play Service book. This way I would always be slender yet bold, well dressed in a uniform, always dramatic, sometimes funny and sometimes tragic. These two companies have a strict set of guidelines for publishing a play, and they hold the bar high. So most of the time when you pick up a published play, you are in for a real treat. This is definitely the case with “The Book of Liz,” written by brother-and-sister satirists, Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris. My stepdaughter, Violet was cast in the leading role of Liz in a freshman class production of the play in the fall of 2018 at UCLA. I was surprised that I had never heard of this play, published in 2002. My husband Jeff and I read it out loud so we could get up to speed on the plot before seeing the production. The story centers around Sister Elizabeth Donderstock who belongs to a religious community called the Squeamish, where she is known for making impressive cheese balls, both traditional and smoky. While toiling in her kitchen, making money to support the Squeamish, Donderstock feels under appreciated, so she runs away. Once on the road, she is befriended by a Ukrainian couple that help her get a job as a waitress at a restaurant run by recovering alcoholics. Like any story written by Amy or David, to re-tell the plot does not do it justice. Violet was wonderful in her role as Sister Donderstock, as were the other freshman in the cast who worked so hard to make this show a success. I don’t like to leave any David Sedaris stone unturned, so this is definitely a quirky one to put on your reading list to make you laugh. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.