When You Are Engulfed in Flames

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

 by David Sedaris
(based on 254 customer reviews)

When You Are Engulfed in Flames (Hardcover)
Author: David Sedaris
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company


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Most useful review as voted by customers:
150 out of 164 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 6/9/08


Quirky, original, true

Reading a David Sedaris short story is like watching the author think. Each is told as a stream of consciousness that somehow ties together beautifully in the end. This collection includes some laugh-out-loud essays, and others that are touching and poignant. All are thoughtful and so original they are obviously taken from real life.

If you're not familar with him, Sedaris is the Dave Barry of the National Public Radio set. I've been a Sedaris fan for a long time through NPR's "This American Life." This book is like a collection of the best of those quirky radio essays. (I also have the audio CD set, a 9-disc marathon that plays like an NPR fundraising marathon without those annoying pleas for cash.)

The stories are filled with memorable characters. Irritated Becky, who sits next to Sedaris on a plane flight and inspires incorrect answers in Solution to Saturday's Puzzle. Gravel-voiced Helen, who lives next door to Sedaris and is the unlikely heroine of That's Amore. Sedaris' sister Amy, the owner of a magazine called New Animal Orgy in Town and Country. Woven throughout the essays is the fast-walking Hugh, Sedaris boyfriend, who demonstrates true love by lancing a boil in Old Faithful.

There is plenty of sex and language in this book, so it's not for your pre-teenager or Aunt Betsy. But for thoughtful adults who want a good laugh, it's a must-read.

71 out of 87 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 6/5/08


Bracing and funny....like a cold martini thrown in your ex's face

A very enjoyable read, with a couple of pieces that may be among Sedaris' very best. It does however, feel like there are couple of essays that should have been left out of this collection-pieces that did not add to the book as a whole, or seemed too similar to each other. I do think that "Solution to Saturday's Puzzle" is one of the great pieces of humorous writing, up on a level with Wodehouse's "Clicking of Cuthbert," which it resembles in almost no way. Frankly, the book is worth it for the giggles and guffaws to be found in that story alone, the rest of the collection is icing on the literary cake (though perhaps occasionally spread a bit too thick).
Buy this book and enjoy the sharp hilarity of our dreary lives...and if you like it, you might want to try Marc Acito's new novel. He's another one of our wittiest writers.

68 out of 76 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 6/5/08


Everyone but my mom should read this book!

I have been waiting for a new David Sedaris book for a long time. I read the entire book yesterday afternoon and I could not stop laughing. His descriptions, dialogue, and demented details are uniquely Sedaris. This book did not disappoint; I knew what I was getting into the moment I read through the table of contents. Some critics are saying that there is nothing new here, blah, blah, blah. What do they want from a David Sedaris book? Romance? Epic Adventure? YA Fiction? I am a huge fan of Mr. Sedaris (David, not Lou), and his essays on his life leave me laughing. The section on smoking was not only funny, but very truthful. I could taste the menthol while reading. Very descriptive-very hilarious! Thank you David Sedaris.

5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 6/5/08


Another Great One!!

Really enjoyed the book ,as always. I would love to see Burroughs and Sedaris Co-write a book together. Man, would that be interesting! The fun simplicity and personal association I have with their stories make me feel just right. Great reading.

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