When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
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Book Reviews of When You Are Engulfed in Flames
Book Review: Life at mid-life
Summary: 5 Stars
I must admit that this is the first David Sedaris book I've read, and I hope it won't be my last...or his last, now that he has given up smoking. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" is a warm mix of syntax and prose, moving at just the right speed to absorb every nuance of his observations. When one is finished it might occur that Sedaris would be a nice dinner companion, though I suspect the reader would probably get to know him better in print than over a meal.
This is a book of comparisons and the author likes the word "like". It could be his favorite word but every simile he uses has a humorous tone meant to educate the reader in diverse ways. It's hard to classify David Sedaris at mid-life...he's not as neurotic (but no less perspicacious!) as Woody Allen but a bit more overstated than, say, Bob Newhart. A gay Ernest Hemingway? Well, not quite, but at least there was booze and smoking material surrounding each writer.
Every chapter in Sedaris's book is engaging but his final one (and by far the longest) deals with his giving up cigarettes as he roams the cities of Japan. I would imagine that if you're relinquishing a habit or an addiction, writing about it must be helpful. This is a wonderfully constructed book and I highly recommend "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" for the author's wit, insight and terrific narrative style.
Book Review: Really good, but an evolution of Sedaris.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read David Sedaris' other books, and I wouldn't recommend doing it in public unless you enjoy being stared at by the people around you as you miserably fail to stifle your disruptive laughter. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" proved to be particularly disabling to read: I frequently laughed to the point of uselessness.
I had a couple of similar experiences while reading "Engulfed", but it was different than his past books too. I would say it's just as good as his previous works, but has a slightly different aim than they did. What Sedaris always does so well is keenly analyze things that most of us experience but immediately dismiss in the press day to day life. Instead of moving on, Sedaris lingers and recounts his experiences for his reader or listener with quirky insights that frequently remind you of your own fleeting thoughts or emotions in similar situations.
To me, that is the underlying appeal of David Sedaris. Typically, his insights are uproariously funny. In this case, they're a little more poignant and chuckle-inducing, but the experience of recognizing my own foibles in Sedaris' skewering of his own foibles is still the same treat it's been in the past.
Highly recommended for fans of Sedaris and for anyone who likes off-center insights on the world.
Book Review: Sedaris - Equal and opposite of Chicken Soup
Summary: 5 Stars
I was introduced to David Sedaris when a relative of mine was in a coma for 5 months. I was told that someone was coming to the hospital, sitting beside the bed and reading from the "Chicken Soup" series of books. I was horrified as I'd been told that a person in a coma can still hear and I couldn't fathom the torture my loved one must be in - unable to move or communicate and being subjected to a torture akin to mental water boarding. Immediately I put the word out for some other essay series that could be read to him that would nullify the damage being done by this well intentioned person. David Sedaris was suggested several times and this is how I met him (literarily speaking).
I have "Engulfed" in the audio version that's read by the author. My favorites from Sedaris are always when he relates tales about his boyhood and goofy family. There's plenty to be found here. In this compilation I found the new bike essay interesting, the crotchety lady neighbor hilarious, but the whole smoking cessation portion was so close to home that it was a bit unnerving. He went to Japan, I went to Mexico. It worked for him, not for me...
I highly recomend this book - you can never go wrong with Sedaris (even if your in a coma)...bg
Book Review: Comedy at its finest
Summary: 5 Stars
Now, while I have heard a number of good things about David Sedaris' books, I have never actually read one before. Despite this, I was pretty excited about reading 'When You Are Engulfed in Flames', and I was not disappointed. Sedaris' newest book is a very funny collection of essays about ordinary everyday events in his life, or at least ordinary for him. All the stories in his book feel almost intertwined, possibly because they all to build up to a realization, almost like lessons he learned over time. Whether it is his realization that country spiders don't survive well in the city, or Sedaris eventually learning what makes one of his neighbors tick, Sedaris is very good at building a story over time. He can look at a number of events at different times and places, and see how he came to a better understanding because of these seemingly unrelated events. He also tends to make the simplest things seem more fun and exciting, such as quitting smoking. Not many people would decide to temporarily move across the world just to quit smoking. I think, in the end, David Sedaris is just skilled at comedy and story-telling in general. After all, isn't comedy just making the mundane amusing?Book Review: Still Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
Years after achieving notoriety with "Santaland Diaries" and after many tales of cringing (and often astounding) self-revelation, it is reasonable to ask if David Sedaris can still deliver a story you would never imagine in print or if he can turn a phrase unlike anyone else. In short, yes he can. Sedaris still sets the standard for bracing, introspective writing that offers laughs with a lingering sense of pathos.
Long-time readers will find the collection of stories to be a seamless addition to Sedaris' body of work. The new chapters deepen and expand upon familiar subjects such as Sedaris' life-long negotiation with an anarchic family; mainstream expectations of "success," and a world filled with very random, very odd characters.
Newcomers to Sedaris will have no problem starting here. Sedaris' strength as a writer is his ability to beckon to absolute strangers and proceed to tell them the most revealing stories about himself in a wry, disarming way. However, it is very likely that a new reader will rapidly move onto Sedaris' other books because there really is no one else who tells a story like him.