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| When You Are Engulfed in Flames | 
 enlarge | List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $12.58
You Save: $13.41 (52%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 156 reviews)
Sales Rank: 17
Category: Book
Author: David Sedaris
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Studio: Little, Brown and Company
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
Label: Little, Brown and Company
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 0316143472
Dewey Decimal Number: 814.54
EAN: 9780316143479
ASIN: 0316143472
Publication Date: June 3, 2008
Release Date: June 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
"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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 151 more reviews...
 He's so funny ~ July 24, 2008
It was a joy to read. An author like Sedaris doesn't come along very often. This was the first of Sedaris' books I've read. It had me belly laughing! I plan on reading his other book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. It was #1 on the NYT bestseller list.
I bought When You Are Engulfed in Flames specifically to see how another person went about quitting smoking and that's the essay I read first. He gives me the inspiration, along with many laughs, to quit smoking
myself. I only wish we could all go to Japan to do
it. I think Mr. Sedaris has another bestseller on his hands.
Another great book by David Sedaris! July 23, 2008
Once again, David Sedaris has written a hilarious account about his neurotic family and friends. I especially loved the story about the Stadium Pal. If you're looking for some huge laughs, you won't go wrong with this book.
Really good, but an evolution of Sedaris. July 22, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I've read David Sedaris' other books, and I wouldn't recommend doing it in public unless you enjoy being stared at by the people around you as you miserably fail to stifle your disruptive laughter. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" proved to be particularly disabling to read: I frequently laughed to the point of uselessness.
I had a couple of similar experiences while reading "Engulfed", but it was different than his past books too. I would say it's just as good as his previous works, but has a slightly different aim than they did. What Sedaris always does so well is keenly analyze things that most of us experience but immediately dismiss in the press day to day life. Instead of moving on, Sedaris lingers and recounts his experiences for his reader or listener with quirky insights that frequently remind you of your own fleeting thoughts or emotions in similar situations.
To me, that is the underlying appeal of David Sedaris. Typically, his insights are uproariously funny. In this case, they're a little more poignant and chuckle-inducing, but the experience of recognizing my own foibles in Sedaris' skewering of his own foibles is still the same treat it's been in the past.
Highly recommended for fans of Sedaris and for anyone who likes off-center insights on the world.
Cynical Sedaris Strikes Again July 22, 2008
I love cynical writings so David Sedaris is one of my favorites though this book is a bit more introspective and sensitive. As he gets older, he thinks things through more and understands the weaknesses and silliness of others and has come to understand their situations. Amazon had the best price on the book and I like that they mail in boxes so damage isn't done to the contents. Most sellers would use a bag for a book. I highly recommend both the book and the seller.
Up to Sedaris' High Standards July 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Almost every book I've read by David Sedaris has elicited body-shaking and rather loud laughter. His latest, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames," is no exception. Those familiar with Sedaris' literary voice won't skip a beat; it's almost as if the time between this and his last book was a break in a conversation.
David Sedaris is a talented comedy writer. Oftentimes the back cover of his books has compared him to Mark Twain and Nathaniel West in terms of satirical aptitude. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" does well to promote this idea.
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