When You Are Engulfed in Flames

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 book. nDavid 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. nTrying 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). nPraise for When You Are Engulfed in Flames: n nOlder, wiser, smarter and meaner, Sedaris...defies the odds once again by delivering an intelligent take on the banalities of an absurd life. --Kirkus Reviews n nThis 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 n nTable of Contents: n nIt's Catching nKeeping Up nThe Understudy nThis Old House nBuddy, Can You Spare a Tie? nRoad Trips nWhat I Learned nThat's Amore nThe Monster Mash nIn the Waiting Room nSolutions to Saturday's Puzzle nAdult Figures Charging Toward a Concrete Toadstool nMemento Mori nAll the Beauty You Will Ever Need nTown and Country nAerial nThe Man in the Hut nOf Mice and Men nApril in Paris nCrybaby nOld Faithful nThe Smoking Section n n nn