---
product_id: 3746710
title: "When You Are Engulfed in Flames"
price: "€ 23.30"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/3746710-when-you-are-engulfed-in-flames
store_origin: SK
region: Slovakia
---

# When You Are Engulfed in Flames

**Price:** € 23.30
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- **What is this?** When You Are Engulfed in Flames
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- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sk](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/3746710-when-you-are-engulfed-in-flames)

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## Description

A masterful collection of essays from America's most beloved humorist that will take readers to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever. "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

Review: Sedaris Strikes Again - I don't share much of a background with David Sedaris, I'm not from a "middle class" family, I have no college education (IVY LEAGUE even, c'mon), no one in my family has had anything to do with the arts, I'm an only freakin' child, I'm born bred and have always lived in the North West, I don't even have a passport let alone the means to live in any country I please... The list could continue and for some readers things like this make Sedaris' writing out of reach, even insulting. The thing is though we seem to have absolutely nothing in common we do have one thing, tiny as it may be, we the commanality of being human and living during this particular era. That is what connects me to him and his writing, his humble humanity. He knows he isn't a beauty queen, he consistently blunders through life making mistakes, playing the fool even and yet he has this amazing ability to WRITE about it, to share it with thw world and make fun of himself OUT LOUD to millions of readers. I love him for that, I love him for the fact academia hasn't sapped the humanity out of him and made him feel blunder proof or at least made him a blunder snob, hiding behind eight letter words that no one knows the true meaning of, ducking behind an Ivy league education. I picked this particular book up because my best friend is in the hospital, has been, will be, for a while. I have learned that he CANNOT handle being alone so I sit there, hour upon hour and try to read him to sleep. Sedaris' short stories and essays are perfect hospital food right? The problem is reading them aloud for the first time is hard because he makes laugh out loud (and not many do)so in the quiet hospital corridors one room is bellowing with laughter, from me, from my sick friend who really shouldn't be laughing right now, it hurts him, but he won't let me stop. A nurse cruises in inevitably when I am reading something that out of context seems dirty, it becomes even funnier. My context of reading this particular Sedaris book aside it is really a very funny, charming piece of literature that connects with the reader on many levels. The parts that others seem to be offended or put off by, I say read them with zeal, be happy that someone out there is making enough money off being a boob, off proudly being a boob to travel to Japan and France and across the U.S. and is taking the time (for money maybe but whatever) to share his experiences as a pretty much average Joe with us. Be happy to read from someone who relishes in the oddities, who isn't always tring to make you sympathetic and tearful. It really is a rare quality. You will find that most contemporary memoir(ish) literature relies on human empathy and sad, sad, sad, SAD parts of life. It's nice to take a break and read from someone who can tell you abot his mother dying of lung cancer in one paragraph and have you giggling in the next.Comedy or Tragedy, life is what you make of it. Trust me I have my own fair share of the comedically tragic, but when my friends can laugh at the crazy things I say and do when I am hallucinating because Lupus is attacking my brain I am way better than when they are crying over it. David Sedaris has the ability to make you laugh over things that put another way might make you cry. AND he has inspired me to REALLY quit smoking, I am done with cigarettes.
Review: "Naked" meets "Me Talk Pretty One Day"? - When You Are Engulfed In Flames is a solid four-stars and damn near close to five; we'll settle for 4.5. But then again, I'm a serious Sedaris fiend. By now, you (dear reader) have already made up your mind about David Sedaris and have either worked your way through this collection or else long ago discarded him, irrelevant as an expended filter tip. So if you find yourself in the former category then by all means, read on. When You Are Engulfed In Flames makes Sedaris' previous collection, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, seem like a disaster, a complete train wreck. Which is unfair because I think that Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is a strong collection with some exemplary essays. And also because I get the feeling that it was a more personal werk for him, that he's a bit more exposed and vulnerable in those essays. Thematically, When You Are Engulfed In Flames is a reprise of Me Talk Pretty One Day -- highly focused on language and style, on the humanity of humiliation and (to echo some other reviewers) those dark places where our sentimentality tends to get the best of us. But it's a counterpoint melody to Me Talk Pretty One Day -- arrogant where the other was modest, chagrined where the other took delight. Structurally, this collection is an echo of Naked, though perhaps a bit more mature. As I wrote of DFW's Consider the Lobster, the essays are arranged well, jokes from earlier essays recurring, serving to inform your later tittering. That said, the individual essays seem to follow a rhythm that is new for Sedaris. If this were an elementary school music class, I would say that his earlier essays have a rhyme scheme that goes ABAB, these are turned more toward ABCA. It seems a cop-out to recommend this collection. Those that are already turned on to Sedaris are unlikely to be disappointed; those that didn't much care for him in the first place won't find anything to change their opinions. Anyone with previous exposure is likely to see symptoms of his previous werks; I suppose the difference is whether you carry the antibodies?

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #106,587 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #30 in Humor Essays (Books) #267 in Essays (Books) #1,101 in Fiction Satire |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,851 Reviews |

## Images

![When You Are Engulfed in Flames - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91t9NSl3X8L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sedaris Strikes Again
*by M***S on May 13, 2011*

I don't share much of a background with David Sedaris, I'm not from a "middle class" family, I have no college education (IVY LEAGUE even, c'mon), no one in my family has had anything to do with the arts, I'm an only freakin' child, I'm born bred and have always lived in the North West, I don't even have a passport let alone the means to live in any country I please... The list could continue and for some readers things like this make Sedaris' writing out of reach, even insulting. The thing is though we seem to have absolutely nothing in common we do have one thing, tiny as it may be, we the commanality of being human and living during this particular era. That is what connects me to him and his writing, his humble humanity. He knows he isn't a beauty queen, he consistently blunders through life making mistakes, playing the fool even and yet he has this amazing ability to WRITE about it, to share it with thw world and make fun of himself OUT LOUD to millions of readers. I love him for that, I love him for the fact academia hasn't sapped the humanity out of him and made him feel blunder proof or at least made him a blunder snob, hiding behind eight letter words that no one knows the true meaning of, ducking behind an Ivy league education. I picked this particular book up because my best friend is in the hospital, has been, will be, for a while. I have learned that he CANNOT handle being alone so I sit there, hour upon hour and try to read him to sleep. Sedaris' short stories and essays are perfect hospital food right? The problem is reading them aloud for the first time is hard because he makes laugh out loud (and not many do)so in the quiet hospital corridors one room is bellowing with laughter, from me, from my sick friend who really shouldn't be laughing right now, it hurts him, but he won't let me stop. A nurse cruises in inevitably when I am reading something that out of context seems dirty, it becomes even funnier. My context of reading this particular Sedaris book aside it is really a very funny, charming piece of literature that connects with the reader on many levels. The parts that others seem to be offended or put off by, I say read them with zeal, be happy that someone out there is making enough money off being a boob, off proudly being a boob to travel to Japan and France and across the U.S. and is taking the time (for money maybe but whatever) to share his experiences as a pretty much average Joe with us. Be happy to read from someone who relishes in the oddities, who isn't always tring to make you sympathetic and tearful. It really is a rare quality. You will find that most contemporary memoir(ish) literature relies on human empathy and sad, sad, sad, SAD parts of life. It's nice to take a break and read from someone who can tell you abot his mother dying of lung cancer in one paragraph and have you giggling in the next.Comedy or Tragedy, life is what you make of it. Trust me I have my own fair share of the comedically tragic, but when my friends can laugh at the crazy things I say and do when I am hallucinating because Lupus is attacking my brain I am way better than when they are crying over it. David Sedaris has the ability to make you laugh over things that put another way might make you cry. AND he has inspired me to REALLY quit smoking, I am done with cigarettes.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Naked" meets "Me Talk Pretty One Day"?
*by R***. on July 9, 2008*

When You Are Engulfed In Flames is a solid four-stars and damn near close to five; we'll settle for 4.5. But then again, I'm a serious Sedaris fiend. By now, you (dear reader) have already made up your mind about David Sedaris and have either worked your way through this collection or else long ago discarded him, irrelevant as an expended filter tip. So if you find yourself in the former category then by all means, read on. When You Are Engulfed In Flames makes Sedaris' previous collection, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, seem like a disaster, a complete train wreck. Which is unfair because I think that Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is a strong collection with some exemplary essays. And also because I get the feeling that it was a more personal werk for him, that he's a bit more exposed and vulnerable in those essays. Thematically, When You Are Engulfed In Flames is a reprise of Me Talk Pretty One Day -- highly focused on language and style, on the humanity of humiliation and (to echo some other reviewers) those dark places where our sentimentality tends to get the best of us. But it's a counterpoint melody to Me Talk Pretty One Day -- arrogant where the other was modest, chagrined where the other took delight. Structurally, this collection is an echo of Naked, though perhaps a bit more mature. As I wrote of DFW's Consider the Lobster, the essays are arranged well, jokes from earlier essays recurring, serving to inform your later tittering. That said, the individual essays seem to follow a rhythm that is new for Sedaris. If this were an elementary school music class, I would say that his earlier essays have a rhyme scheme that goes ABAB, these are turned more toward ABCA. It seems a cop-out to recommend this collection. Those that are already turned on to Sedaris are unlikely to be disappointed; those that didn't much care for him in the first place won't find anything to change their opinions. Anyone with previous exposure is likely to see symptoms of his previous werks; I suppose the difference is whether you carry the antibodies?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ When You Are Engulfed in Flames
*by L***Y on August 20, 2014*

I've gathered from reading many reviews of this book that the general consensus is that while When You Are Engulfed in Flames is a good book, Sedaris has done better. To that, I can only think of one thing to say: if this is "mediocre" compared to his other works, then I can't wait to read them! Personally, I think this is an excellent collection of essays, they are funny, witty, smart and endearing and I'm glad I finally got around to reading something written by Sedaris. "Keeping Up", "In the Waiting Room", "April in Paris", and as gross as it was, "Old Faithful" are among my favorites in this collection, but the one that really struck a chord with me was "The Smoking Section", being a sort of former cigarette smoker (I've switched to an electronic cigarette, but the switch has been difficult). I can't wait to read more essays from Sedaris, he's a smooth writer who knows how to draw you into his world. The essays herein cover a wider range than I understand a lot of his other works cover, and I think that makes for an excellent collection. Variety is the spice of life after all, and this collection certainly added a bit of kick to mine while I was reading it.

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*Product available on Desertcart Slovakia*
*Store origin: SK*
*Last updated: 2026-06-13*