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When You Are Engulfed in Flames

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

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Author: David Sedaris
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book

List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $12.99
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Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 202 reviews
Sales Rank: 41

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
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
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: New. Bookstore quality. Choose Expedited Shipping for fastest delivery.

Also Available In:

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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






Customer Reviews:   Read 5 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars Light Entertainment   August 21, 2008
Randi G. Hight (Houston, TX)
This book I found entertaining. After reading a long clunker like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle...this was a breath of fresh air. I liked it.


4 out of 5 stars My kind of humor   August 20, 2008
Jamie Edwards (Concord, NC)
I just discovered David Sedaris on NPR. I was intrigued by his show, so I researched him and found that he has written several books. I picked up the most recent, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and read it within two days. His dry wit and sarcasm made me laugh out loud. While most of the essays are very funny, there are a few that aren't as entertaining. All in all, it's a great read for anyone who can see humor in the most disturbing scenarios.


4 out of 5 stars better, actually   August 20, 2008
smart flower
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.


5 out of 5 stars LOL   August 19, 2008
Heather A. Roycroft (Buffalo, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

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!


1 out of 5 stars when you are engulfed in flames   August 19, 2008
joesgirl (Atlanta, GA)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful

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. I also let mey son read it before I started it. He read a few chapters and gave it back saying he didn't care for it, but didn't say why. Now I know - ick!



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