When You Are Engulfed in Flames - bime.com Product Guide

"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 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

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

better, actually:

I liked Barrel Fever when it came out; I was lukewarm about Sedaris' subsequent books, but this one is really very funny and much more subtle. I might even say I like it the best.

LOL:

I was calling friends to read them excerpts from this book, only I was laughing so hard usually they couldn't understand me! I immediately bought tickets to Sedaris's next reading!

when you are engulfed in flames:

I used to like David Sedaris. "Me talk Pretty on Day" was lovely. "Naked" and "Dress Your Children..." were funny. But "When you are Engulfed in Flames" was disgusting. I started the book, got completely grossed out and then looked at others reviews. I won't be finishing it. I'm done with his disgusting imagery - worms hanging out of people's legs. I don't need thoughts like hanging around in my head. If I tought it would get better I'd give it another try but so many reviews here say it's a waste of time.... more info

A Fan:

I have read all of David Sedaris' books and love them all. I really enjoyed Engulfed in Flames, but it didn't result in as many laugh out loud moments as have occurred from past books. While I always love the belly laughs, this book contains plenty of great material and is, at times, highly contemplative.
I am about the same age as Sedaris and have always enjoyed reading about his childhood, as I can relate. This makes reading all of his book especially enjoyable.
Sedaris does a wonderful job--as... more info

Similar Products:

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father
by Augusten Burroughs
(Hardcover)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

I Was Told There'd Be Cake
by Sloane Crosley
(Paperback)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

Leave the Building Quickly: True Stories (P.S.)
by Cynthia Kaplan
(Paperback)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
by Chelsea Handler
(Hardcover)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

Bright Shiny Morning
by James Frey
(Hardcover)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

Snuff
by Chuck Palahniuk
(Hardcover)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
by Mary Roach
(Hardcover)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

Dear American Airlines: A Novel
by Jonathan Miles
(Hardcover)
- Usually ships in 24 hours

The Monster of Florence
by Douglas Preston
(Hardcover)
- Usually ships in 24 hours