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Jul 11, 2008

Dusty rated it:

Here's my take on Sedaris, or maybe my take on Sedaris before I listened to this book: Naked is easily his best work because it's his most thorough, his most unencumbered by his own fame. If we were to compare his oeuvre to MTV's The Real World, Naked is the original New York season (despite not being Sedaris's first book). In New York, the cast members were people already living in the city (with the Alabama exception) and trying to make a living; the whole "be on TV" part of it was More...

1 comment like (35 people liked it)

Jul 02, 2008

James rated it:

Eh.

That’s my review: eh.

With maybe a shoulder shrug.

Someone better read than I recently remarked something to the effect of, “Once you’ve read one David Sedaris book, haven’t you read them all?”

Yes.

And Kurt Vonnegut.

And several others. But that’s neither here nor there.

Sedaris’s recent book makes such a dismissive comment truer than ever. For readers familiar with Holidays on Ice, Dress Your Family in Corduroy an More...

7 comments like (23 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

RandomAnthony rated it:

You know, Montambo is right, this is Sedaris' best book. While earlier in his career the author seemed to go for easy laughs (Look at my brother! What an ass!) or convenient self-loathing something seems to have clicked this time around that transforms the work from magazine article quality to literature. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Sedaris sounds like a real writer in this book; the essays flow unforced and genuine insight accompanies the punch lines. Sedaris doesn't seem to be writing fo More...

17 comments like (19 people liked it)

Jul 15, 2008

brian rated it:

When I first saw this in a bookstore I thought to myself, can he do it again? Is there more scrapable hilarity clinging to the walls of his interesting life, fit to amuse and entertain his many fans? Sedaris does in fact do it again and apparently there's an endless well of funny stuffy, a font of hilarity, within this man.

This is another great collection, on par with his other works for all the Sedaris fans out there. There is one story in particular (“That's Amore”) -- or rather a More...

14 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2008

Alana rated it:

While I certainly won't call this the best David Sedaris collection that you can purchase for yourself, I will say that any David Sedaris is worth reading -- and thus, my star rating. It would probably be more like three and a half if Goodreads did half stars the way LibraryThing does, but ah well.
The observation I have for this collection is that with Mr. Sedaris giving up drinking, drugs, and smoking... his stories seem to be a bit more tame. Much more focus on his boyfriend Hugh or st More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2008

Valerie rated it:

When I first started reading this book, I found myself disappointedly thinking that it was just more of the same from David Sedaris - stories that either make you laugh out loud or make you cringe (or more often both). Don't get me wrong - he's still funny - but I was expecting more from this one... some evolution in style or content. I liked his earlier books because they were more raw, the stories a bit more unexpected. The beginning of this one felt a little recycled, and I was ready to be do More...

9 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 12, 2008

Imogen rated it:

When I am not reading David Sedaris, I am thinking: David Sedaris, man, there is a popular guy whose books are kind of just always around and not very interesting. But when I *am* reading him, I'm always like, there are five or six absolutely brilliant punchlines in every one of this guy's books, and the other parts are, y'know, enjoyable enough.

I think it's a testament to my always forgetting how much I like him that I guess I've read all his stuff, but I absolutely never think of More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 06, 2008

Brian rated it:

After reading Sedaris' previous collection, I began to suspect that he had mined all of the material he could from his family and the earlier hard times he experienced. It appeared he was now left with the task of finding hilarity and poignancy in the life of a rich, celebrated author. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" confirms that his days of dressing as an elf, picking apples, and hitch-hiking cross country with an incomplete quadriplegic are long gone. In their place we are left More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2011

Stefania rated it:

Quando, in preda alle mie manie/idiosincrasie/fobie/fissazioni, incontro uno scrittore che, con nonchalance, quasi fischiettando, riporta su carta bianca tutti i caotici discorsi delle vocette che albergano nella mia mente, riportandone i toni e l'atmosfera della più completa inettitudine, e, in più, mi fa ridere a crepapelle di tutto ciò, come può il giudizio non essere più che positivo (e forse anche un po' sbilanciato)?

Alcuni racconti sono (nettamente) migliori di altri, un tantin More...

5 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 02, 2008

Nate rated it:

I didn't care much for Sedaris' last book, Dress your family in corduroy and denim. It felt forced, his embellishments more absurd to the point where I felt it was obvious which events actually happened and which were invented to make the story more interesting.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames was calmer in tone, more believable and felt less deadline inspired. Most of the stories revolve around the author and his partner, as opposed to the Sedaris brood - Gretchen, Lisa, the Chicken More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2009

Shannon rated it:

I don't quite get the people who say this isn't as funny as his other books- I thought it was plenty funny. The comment about having a 400 dollar sweater that looked like it had been thrown to a tiger and thus was already ruined and incapable of being further ruined.. that made me laugh. And saying a cracker tasted like penis. And lots of little one-liners. But what's really awesome about his stuff is that it's MORE than just a bunch of one-liners. He really is a very observant, intelligent, hil More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jul 31, 2008

Laura rated it:

This was my first time reading a book of his. Upon finding myself curled up in what can only be described as a painful, repressed laughter spasm on the subway (this, after reading about the downside to recreational catheters), I realized that perhaps Sedaris is more appropriate for at-home reading. You can be sure I'll be reading more, as I'm told this isn't even his best.

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2008

Erin rated it:

Some people find that after reading one or two of Sedaris's books, he becomes less ha-ha funny. Maybe they get used to his style of humour. Maybe there's a golden order in which to read them (personally, I find chronologically by publishing date works well). Maybe there is a slight advantage to hearing him speak in person. I tend to read him while imagining how he'd say it, and immediately a dry sentence comes to life.

I could go on about the maturation I see happening in his work, More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 02, 2008

Joe rated it:

Before picking this book up at an airport newsstand, knew nothing of David Sedaris except that his name is mentioned constantly as being popular and I see his books everywhere. I guessed it was time to check into something current and popular to see what I was missing. Plus this book had Van Gogh's "Skeleton with Cigarette" as its cover, so how could you go wrong? The cover was designed by Chip Kidd, and I suspect his other ones were as well. I think a sharp cover goes a long way towar More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 19, 2008

Schmacko rated it:

I just finished the new David Sedaris book When You are Engulfed in Flames. Isn’t that his snappiest title yet?

This very funny man’s book of personal essays only sporadically reaches the wacky heights of his other book. I laughed quite a few times, but there were very few stories I wanted to read to my friends over the phone (a mark of distinction I’ve held for his earlier books)

There are a few stand-out, hilarious stories here. One about Sedaris’ neighbor in NYC will More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2009

Rob rated it:

A solid ★★★★ and damn near close to ★★★★★ that we'll settle for ★★★★½. But then again, I'm a serious Sedaris fiend.

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 More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2008

Sig! rated it:

Can I give the book 3.5 stars? 3 isn't enough, but 4 is too many. Anyway...

David Sedaris didn't charm me with this one, possibly because most of the material wasn't new to me. I'd read many of the essays in previous collections or in The New Yorker, and had heard him read some of the pieces on his book tour. So...maybe that was the trouble.

Or maybe I'm finally sick of the formula: Start with something quirky, move into another story or observation, and bring it back a More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2008

David rated it:

This new collection of essays by David Sedaris is unobjectionable, but fails to come anywhere near the hilarity of his best effort, "Me Talk Pretty Some Day". Most of the pieces remind one of "Seinfeld", being about nothing but the author's particular neuroses. Which range from being moderately entertaining ("Memento Mori", buying a human skeleton and its aftermath) to weirdly offputting ("April in Paris", in which the author's fascination with spiders is More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 03, 2008

Debbie rated it:

I really like this collection of stories. David Sedaris has quit drinking and smoking, which I thought would be the kiss of death, but the new calmer voice is still entertaining. As I have found with all of his books, some essays have parts that made me laugh out loud or giggle helplessly in public and others left me unmoved. I enjoyed the Helen story and the chance to get to know Hugh better and see how their relationship works. There is something about Sedaris' observations and descriptions th More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 23, 2010

Kathi rated it:

Anmaßend beyond believe - aber deshalb nicht weniger wahr: David Sedaris is ja mein Soulmate. Ob Aufwachsen in Rayleigh einer Kindheit in Wien gleich kommt? Zwei Brüder wie 3 Schwestern? Paris wie Berlin? Was immer die Basis meiner zutiefst empfunden Verbindung mit Ms. Sedaris, kein Buch konnte sie bisher schmälern (Shame on you, Ms. Hornby!). Lieblingssätze bisher:

"Time is cruel on everything but seems to have singled out eyeglasses for special punishment"

" More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 21, 2008

Linda rated it:

OK, I like David Sedaris again. I thought his last couple of books were disappointing. I felt that he had gone from laughing at himself to looking down his nose (at his family mostly and I'm sure they can take a joke, but I didn't like it so much) and making fun of everybody else. This is not so "funny" as some of his earlier work (as his father might say -- "this is work?") but they were fun to read.
But what is this suddenly so popular "genre"? Shooting More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 01, 2009

Indra rated it:

The most uneven of his books to date, in my opinion...there were times when I was actually bored enough to lose interest, which has never, ever happened to me reading David Sedaris--I have all his books. Fortunately, these times came and went, and I did feel like the book ended on a high note. I enjoyed the piece where he went to Japan and quit smoking, particularly the bits where he was learning Japanese. I feel like his strongest stories involve other strong characters--in the case of his othe More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 15, 2008

Alissa rated it:

After reading the NY Times review, I didn't have high hopes for this collection, but after reading it, I really admire how far he's come as a memoirist. He's still funny but more gently so, and I like his themes about the passing of time; there's also a lot more about his partner, Hugh Hamrick, and there's some interesting insights about relationships, especially long-term ones. Very enjoyable read.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2011

Jessi rated it:

The first time I had ever heard David Sedaris was when he once appeared on Letterman and read an essay about a "Stadium Pal" the perfect accessory for a sports fan or full time trucker. Basically a catheter like situation that flows into a bag that is "conveniently" taped to your calf. It is for when you just don't want to get up and go to the washroom, you can pee into this sac and deal with the urine at a later time.

(Other then the recommendation to not wear sh More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 28, 2010

Tony rated it:

"When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris is a compilation of essays describing different experiences in the author's life. Some of the essays are down right hilarious and others are life lessons everyone must learn. Red-neck baby-sitters, insincere art snob parents and cough drops landing in a sleeping stranger's lap are just a few of the topics covered by this book. I listened to the audio book of this title, which is read by the author. This isn't always the greatest idea f More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 12, 2008

Meghan rated it:

He spends a lot of time in hotels and on airplanes. This works for me, mostly, because all of the details are well-chosen. Humorous essays must be hard to craft - Sedaris is always good at leaving out the irrelevant clutter.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2009

John rated it:

I classify this one as "travel" as parts of the book take place in France and Japan.

I had low expectations with this offering, having found his past couple of books rather bland, coasting on his laurels; this one surprised me. It's quite varied, not just a few current me-and-Hugh stories among a lot of "my wacky family" anecdotes - there's a pretty good one of his time in NC (after college), where his family barely appears at all. The final section on his giving u More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2011

Maggie rated it:

I was surprised to find myself enjoying ALL of the essays in this book. That's not usually the case for me when it comes to a David Sedaris memoir.

Reading this makes me wonder if he'll attempt to read the Japanese translation of his work (if there is one). Or whether he's still a nonsmoker.

I love how Sedaris portrays himself as ordinary and yet not so ordinary. Everyone has inane thoughts but these are normally dismissed or forgotten quickly. But Sedaris is a master at la More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 30, 2008

Shelly rated it:

I think the honeymoon is over. Or, maybe I'm just too hard to please. Wait, I don't think those are mutually exclusive. In any event, I was let down. This collection of stories/anecdotes seemed more blog-worthy than book-worthy to me. It gave me the sense that he was under pressure to put another book out. To say something. So he follows the formula that's worked for him so well only this time the content's not nearly as entertaining, or noteworthy. One chapter is about a boil he had that his pa More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 27, 2008

Rachel added it

1.
I HATE men who don't do the dishes, I hate it when they sit around and let women do the dishes. David Sedaris doesn't do the dishes and I am glad, because it shows I can hatefully resent slash stereotype gay and straight men equally, and therefore I'm probably not homophobic, although I probably am slightly androgynist, oopsies! But not being homophobic cancels that out, right?

I also HATE IT when a man, like say someone I know, does the dishes as a little something extra to s More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

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