“David Sedaris’s ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art,” (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside … countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In essay after essay, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life-having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds-to the most deeply resonant human truths. Culminating in a brilliant account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris’s sixth essay collection is a new masterpiece of comic writing from “a writer worth treasuring” (Seattle Times).
Praise for When You Are Engulfed in Flames:
“Older, wiser, smarter and meaner, Sedaris…defies the odds once again by delivering an intelligent take on the banalities of an absurd life.” —Kirkus Reviews
This latest collection proves that not only does Sedaris still have it, but he’s also getting better….Sedaris’s best stuff will still–after all this time–move, surprise, and entertain.” —Booklist
Table of Contents:
It’s Catching
Keeping Up
The Understudy
This Old House
Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie?
Road Trips
What I Learned
That’s Amore
The Monster Mash
In the Waiting Room
Solutions to Saturday’s Puzzle
Adult Figures Charging Toward a Concrete Toadstool
Memento Mori
All the Beauty You Will Ever Need
Town and Country
Aerial
The Man in the Hut
Of Mice and Men
April in Paris
Crybaby
Old Faithful
The Smoking Section
more
When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris and narrated by author is a book I picked up from the library. I enjoyed this book so much! The first story had me laughing so much!!! He has a way of telling a basic story but making it extraordinary and either heartwarming, thought provoking, or hilarious! I could relate to many of his characters! …
This was my introduction to David Sedaris. It is laugh out loud funny. I switched between reading to listening to the audio version depending on what I was doing. I was immersed for days. I will definitely read his other works!
When you read a book, the greatest kind of humor of all time happens while you laugh out loud at the author’s choice, and yet you couldn’t possibly come up with a better solution given the same circumstance.
/ 5
When You Are Engulfed in Flames is now my third David Sedaris book that I have listened to on audio. Though I didn’t find it near as funny as Calypso or Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, it was still classic Sedaris and I loved listening to him read his book.
In this collection of essays he quits smoking, goes to Tokyo, and …
Love everything David Sedaris writes!
Sedaris once again does not disappoint. I love how he shares his life/stories in a comical way. Sometimes, I could have some serious thought to his writing, but the humor he brings makes me laugh out loud!
This is one of the funniest books I have ever read!
Love Sedaris’ quirky world view. This was a fun read.