World Famous Comics: When You Are Engulfed in Flames
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
By: David Sedaris Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Little, Brown and Company Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 336 Publication Date: June 03, 2008 Release Date: June 03, 2008
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
I Couldn't Find the Humor! Sorry, I must be missing a gene or two or three - cannot for the life of me understand why this book is supposed to be funny. Sedaris deals with the droll and mundane in life, and that's basically all the book is.
Sedaris is Sedaris Sedaris is Sedaris in this wonderful collection of stories. One thing I like about this collection is that the author, who is about my age, is aging in his writing. As hilarious as his stories about his childhood and young adulthood are, he has become more introspective and quirky, just like the rest of us. His ability to look at and experience the world in everyday life, and present it to us through his eyes is as appealing as ever.
Not up to Snuff Fans of Sedaris will be disappointed. The trademark sense of humor is sorely missing, replaced by "touching" stories.
Stoo, Drop and Roll When You Are Engulfed in Flames is filled with more of David Sedaris's essays on pretty much anything that crosses his mind. From his neighbor Helen to the boil on his lower back to wanting to see the dingo at the zoo. Sedaris dwells on his inadequacies to the point of sleep (the reader's). There are some humorous moments, but Sedaris focuses on the negative too much and the comic relief too little.
interesting sense of humor, very funny 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.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
