When You Are Engulfed in Flames [Hardcover]

David Sedaris (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.; 1ST edition (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1408700913
• ISBN-13: 978-1408700914
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (410 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,327,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America 's pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.David Sedaris is the author of the bestsellers Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, each of which became immediate bestsellers. There are a total of seven million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages. He is the editor of an anthology of stories, , Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories. His essays appear regularly in Esquire and The New Yorker. Sedaris and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name "The Talent Family" and have written several plays which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center , and The Drama Department in New York City . These plays include Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award, Incident at Cobbler's Knob, and The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatist's Play Service. His recent collection of essays, titled When You Are Engulfed in Flames, was published in June 2008.David Sedaris's original radio pieces can often be heard on This American Life, distributed nationally by Public Radio International and produced by WBEZ. In 2001, David Sedaris became the third recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He was named by Time magazine as "Humorist of the Year" in 2001. David Sedaris was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album ("Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim") and Best Comedy Album ("David Sedaris: Live at Carnegie Hall"). In 2008 the audio version of When You Are Engulfed in Flames was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Spoken Word category.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

207 of 226 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky, original, true, June 9, 2008

By 

Julie Neal (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: When You Are Engulfed in Flames (Hardcover)

Reading a David Sedaris short story is like watching the author think. Each one 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 interesting and so original they are obviously taken from real life.

If you're not familiar 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-hour, 8-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.

Not all the essays are mass appeal (my husband, who is not a big NPR listener, hated the first one but loved the third) but I think there's plenty of good stuff in here to please just about any thoughtful adult reader. There is plenty of sex and language, however, so it's not for your pre-teen or Aunt Betsy. But for most anyone else who wants a good laugh, it's a must-read.

113 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone but my mom should read this book!, June 5, 2008

By 

Joni E. Madsen "ink drinker" (Audubon, IA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: When You Are Engulfed in Flames (Hardcover)

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.

109 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mellowing With Age, June 25, 2008

By 

Brett Benner (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: When You Are Engulfed in Flames (Hardcover)

Okay, so it's funny. (ish). There were probably a total of six pages that gave me the kind of squirt milk out of your nose laugh that I love. The rest were just mild chuckles that were spread further along than usual with a Sedaris book. i can't say I found it disappointing, I just wanted to bellyache a bit more. The only conclusion I can come up with after finishing the final longest essay about him quitting smoking, is that like everyone else he's growing older, maturing, and feeling a sense of responsibility. While this made for a sweet and somewhat poignant conclusion, I couldn't help but feel like some of his comedic acid was mellowing with age.