I finished reading Augustine Burroughs Dry: A Memoir. All I can say is, damn, what a train wreck. I’d also be hard pressed to categorize his writing based on this book. It’s amusing but it doesn’t occupy the niche as David Sedaris’ books. Sedaris revels in his pain and wants it to be funny and is keenly aware of absurdity. Burroughs, though, just seems to be telling a painful story and sometimes it’s funny and is mostly aware of himself (it is a memoir, after all). They also differ in where they focus their criticism: Sedaris flings it on everything including himself but Burroughs is compassionate, if not kind, to his characters reserving severity for himself.