When You Are Engulfed in Flames

By: David Sedaris

Narrated by: David Sedaris

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Once again, David Sedaris brings together a collection of essays so uproariously funny and profoundly moving that his legions of fans will fall for him all over again.

He tests the limits of love when Hugh lances a boil from his backside, and pushes the boundaries of laziness when, finding the water shut off in his house in Normandy, he looks to the water in a vase of fresh cut flowers to fill the coffee machine.

From armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds, to the awkwardness of having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a sleeping fellow passenger on a plane, David Sedaris uses life's most bizarre moments to reach new heights in understanding love and fear, family and strangers.

Culminating in a brilliantly funny account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris' sixth essay collection has been avidly anticipated.

©2008 David Sedaris (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

2008 Grammy Nominee, Best Spoken Word Album

"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)

he's funny

he's funny.. I could listen to his stories all day, if I had time. the narrator is great!

Loved it!

I love the pure rawness of David's writing. The reality of life. The good, the bad, the ugly.

Laughed til I cried

David Sederis is one of America's treasures. The way he looks at small, seemingly inconsequential situations and recounts them with such a detail and downright hilarity is amazing. He puts to words what so many of us think in our heads but are too embarrassed to say out loud, which makes it all the more funny.

The Best of David Sedaris

Perfection for this depressed painter. Hilarious genius as usual. Helps me not be as serious, but also makes you think. Wish I could always have a David Sedaris commentary going on in my head. A true pleasure.

David makes me laugh out loud like a horse!

ever since David's StadiumPal essay for Esquire on the David Letterman Show, he's hooked me.

One of my favorite david sedaris collections

Touching and funny. A perfectly hilarious and bittersweet collection of stories and essays. Would recommend

Exquisite

Wry, droll humor at its best. David Sedaris lives in my inner alter. Thank you.

Exceptional!

This was my first exposure to David Sedaris... I've been looking at this book in the book store for several weeks and am very glad I made the choice to listen to it read by the author. I agree with many of the other reviewers, side splitting funny. But if you're homophobic, sexually squimish, don't understand or recognize irony or satire, can't read (listen) between the lines you may fall into the territory of the two or three reviewers who didn't like this book... I was sorry to see (hear) it end and believe that Mr. Sedaris has some of the most unique insight of my generation.

You Must Hear Him Read This!

Those who have encountered David Sedaris on Public Radio know that his voice is unique, and hearing it is a deciding factor in enjoying his work. So, when a book comes out, I immediately go for the audio version. It's one of the rare cases in which hearing the author read his own work is preferable to hearing another professional narrator.

Some of his other books are better than this one - notably "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and "Holidays on Ice". But, there are laughs aplenty here and the usual quirky, cynical outlook on life. Cynical isn't always my cup of tea, but Sedaris definitely is!

Good, though not what I expected

This was the first time I have listened to anything by the author. From reading the other reviews I figured that it would be a comedy or at least funny. It took me almost 3 chapters to figure out the authors sense of humor. Once I did, I did occasionally find myself laughing out loud. Overall a good book, but if you are looking for some easy humor/comedy this isn't the book for you.