When You Are Engulfed in Flames

{ Sept 2021 - Verified ebook for complete book description, cover image, table of contents, separation of book (front/ back matter, parts, and chapters), and epub format error checking. } Paperback, 323 pages Published 2008 "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). "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