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atrautmann217's review
5.0
I love David Sedaris and reading through this essay by essay at night was wonderful. As always he makes smart, hysterical, and poignant observations about the world around him.
erintowner's review
3.0
This collection is darker than David Sedaris's other books. I enjoy his worldview.
tarrowood's review against another edition
4.0
Mr. Sedaris, I’ll be seeing you again sometime in the future, I’m sure of it
caislekyle's review
4.0
at least half the men i went to college with think they’re david sedaris but actually they’re just hypocrites who hate women
most of the book is a solid 3/3.5 but the smoking section is so 5/5 it brings the rest up
most of the book is a solid 3/3.5 but the smoking section is so 5/5 it brings the rest up
libraryam's review
3.0
*Audio version*
Though I enjoy his writing, I think listening to Sedaris read it adds another dimension.
Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you watch through your fingers across your face, once in a while you flinch but come back for more. But such is life, no?
Though I enjoy his writing, I think listening to Sedaris read it adds another dimension.
Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you watch through your fingers across your face, once in a while you flinch but come back for more. But such is life, no?
smourning's review
5.0
This book was thoroughly entertaining. My first Sedaris book, and I'm hooked! These stories are so random, but definately just how I think!
abaugher's review against another edition
4.0
beginning: just about to crack the audio open for the car. have heard good things about this author.
end: low key author narrating, funny with a dry sense of humor. Laughed out loud at parts as I was driving down the road--the usual crazy-looking driver laugh.
end: low key author narrating, funny with a dry sense of humor. Laughed out loud at parts as I was driving down the road--the usual crazy-looking driver laugh.
combepherre's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
2.75
mrswhite's review
3.0
With this, his most recent collection of sardonic essays inspired by his life, I am officially starting to worry that David Sedaris may be running out of ideas.
Undoubtedly, fans of Sedaris will eventually pick up his newest collection. Unfortunately, fans of Sedaris are already long-since familiar with his family, his boyfriend Hugh, and his humorous struggles to learn the language while living in France. And since When You Are Engulfed in Flames includes several essays about his family, his boyfriend, and his struggles to learn the language while living in a foreign land (Japan this time, but even still), I was left with the unmistakable feeling that Sedaris was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Furthermore, all of the essays in this collection have already appeared in either The New Yorker or This American Life, so for hard-core Sedaris fans there's probably not a single new piece to be found.
For those who haven't already read the essays in this collection, they are standard Sedaris - witty, dry, the mundane turned humorous. Like the Van Gogh on the cover, some of the stories here are downright creepy - Sedaris' retelling of his brief stint in a morgue, the story of his awkward friendship with a Normandy neighbor who turned out to be a pedophile, and the one where he recalls various pervy experiences gained while hitchhiking to name a few, and reading these is more of a uncomfortable experience than a humorous one. Certainly, there are some gems to be found, and "The Smoking Section" where he writes about his attempt to stop smoking by moving to - of all places - Tokyo was, for me, the most enjoyable. But even still, I felt like I had heard it before. Like the novelty had worn off a bit.
But this isn't to say I didn't enjoy reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames. It may be spotty, but for my money spotty Sedaris is still better than a lot of the crap that's out there. It's just that we're often hardest on the ones we love the most, you know?
Undoubtedly, fans of Sedaris will eventually pick up his newest collection. Unfortunately, fans of Sedaris are already long-since familiar with his family, his boyfriend Hugh, and his humorous struggles to learn the language while living in France. And since When You Are Engulfed in Flames includes several essays about his family, his boyfriend, and his struggles to learn the language while living in a foreign land (Japan this time, but even still), I was left with the unmistakable feeling that Sedaris was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Furthermore, all of the essays in this collection have already appeared in either The New Yorker or This American Life, so for hard-core Sedaris fans there's probably not a single new piece to be found.
For those who haven't already read the essays in this collection, they are standard Sedaris - witty, dry, the mundane turned humorous. Like the Van Gogh on the cover, some of the stories here are downright creepy - Sedaris' retelling of his brief stint in a morgue, the story of his awkward friendship with a Normandy neighbor who turned out to be a pedophile, and the one where he recalls various pervy experiences gained while hitchhiking to name a few, and reading these is more of a uncomfortable experience than a humorous one. Certainly, there are some gems to be found, and "The Smoking Section" where he writes about his attempt to stop smoking by moving to - of all places - Tokyo was, for me, the most enjoyable. But even still, I felt like I had heard it before. Like the novelty had worn off a bit.
But this isn't to say I didn't enjoy reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames. It may be spotty, but for my money spotty Sedaris is still better than a lot of the crap that's out there. It's just that we're often hardest on the ones we love the most, you know?