When You Are Engulfed in Flames
"The preeminent humorist of his generation ... His reluctant charm and talent for observing every inch of the human condition remain intact." ―Entertainment Weekly
In this hilarious volume, Sedaris proceeds from the 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 masterpiece of comic writing.
"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
"Sedaris's best stuff will still--after all this time--move, surprise, and entertain." --Booklist
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Community Reviews
I've listened to his interviews about this book on NPR and The Daily Show and just love this man. I would have rather listened to this book as read by him but that wasn't feasible at the beach. So I took the new hardback (sans dust jacket) every day to the beach and laughed hysterically while people glanced at me in apparent fear.
I'm still shaking sand from the pages.
Sedaris tells us the stories of Hugh, the worm growing out of his leg, Paris and the spiders in his home, and traveling to Japan just to quit smoking. It is pretty bad when all the good hotels go non-smoking and only a semen covered remote jolts him into realizing that maybe he should just stop smoking.
I particularly loved the line about his finding new snacks in Japan that "tasted like penis". Lord. I can't even comprehend that.
Another good book by Sedaris.
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