When You Are Engulfed in Flames :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
"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

interesting sense of humor, very funny

2008-09-04
I'm a Sedaris fan - I think his sense of humor is very intellectual and hilarious. He makes fun of himself and gives his impression of the things going on around him - just really funny. I laugh out loud with this one.

More gut grabbing laughs.

2008-09-02
Straight from the Van Gogh on the cover through an essay on the practicality of the colostomy bag. The book is filled with the sort of uncomfortably wonderful humor that we have come to expect from Sedaris. Whether you've read his previous five novels or are picking up your first, you'll love this book.

Gimme More.....................

2008-09-01
As always, David Sedaris delivers an easy to read and very funny book. He never disappoints.

Sly & Funny

2008-09-01
I'm sure David Sedaris takes his stories from his experiences - the fun (for me) is wondering what really happened versus where his imagination took over. No matter - his stories are full of his world-view that often made me laugh out loud. Very entertaining.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

2008-08-31
This is just another example of the brilliance of David Sedaris. Now, not as ordinary in his lifestyle, David embarks on new adventures that most people would care to forget or just let pass into obscurity. His style and sincerity remain the same. Go David. This book needs to be read twice in succession. Once to injest the initial shock, again to savor all the wit and irony of everyday stories being turned into hysterical anectdotes.

David Sedaris is HILARIOUS

2008-08-29
"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

love this book

2008-08-29
I read this entire book on a 12 plus hour flight to Beijing, China. Those seated around me was laughing because I was getting so much enjoyment from my book. This is possibly his best book yet.

I love David Sedaris...

2008-08-28
As with all of his books, this book is filled with hilarious stories. Totally amusing. I love his work.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

2008-08-26
This book is just all right. It seems to be a repeat of everything else he has written.... decoratively funny, but not thought provoking.

Hilarious

2008-08-26
While I have read many amusing books in the past, my response is usually an inward smile and a mental note to myself of how clever and succinct the description chosen by the author. This book however causes one to laugh out loud. A true gem!