When You Are Engulfed in Flames

by David Sedaris (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2008

  $25.87

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $5.79

  David Sedaris's remarkable ability to uncover the hilarious absurdity teeming just below the surface of everyday life is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this new book of stories. Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life ? the etiquette of having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger or how to soundproof your windows with LP covers against neurotic songbirds ? to the most deeply resonant human truths. Taking in the parasitic worm that once lived in his mother-in-law's leg, an encounter with a dingo and the purchase of a human skeleton, and culminating in a brilliant account of his attempt to quit smoking ? in Tokyo ? David Sedaris's sixth story collection is a fresh masterpiece of comic writing.

• New

  Paperback
  2009

  $19.60

  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 CatchingKeeping UpThe UnderstudyThis Old HouseBuddy, Can You Spare a Tie?Road TripsWhat I LearnedThat's AmoreThe Monster MashIn the Waiting RoomSolutions to Saturday's PuzzleAdult Figures Charging Toward a Concrete ToadstoolMemento MoriAll the Beauty You Will Ever NeedTown and CountryAerialThe Man in the HutOf Mice and MenApril in ParisCrybabyOld FaithfulThe Smoking Section