Customer Reviews:
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 Self-Absorption Driven to Laughter November 19, 2008
Laugh at yourself and the whole world laughs with you. It's hard to write humorous essays that stand the test of time. Will Rogers realized that and just read the newspaper to audiences while adding an occasionally wry quip to get huge laughs. Put those messages into a book, and they wouldn't have lasted.
I haven't heard David Sedaris perform in person (which he does as readings), but I'm told he's marvelous. If you have had that pleasure, you will undoubtedly hear his voice, know his timing, and see his expressions as you read this witty, self-deprecating book. I suspect that such an imagined performance would easily turn this into a five-star book.
Proust waxed poetic about his memories of a madeleine (a shell-shaped cake in the France of his youth) in stream of consciousness prose. Sedaris does the same thing for a painful boil on his derriere, his horrible inability to learn new languages, and his desire to show a little more plumpness in his derriere. The results are equally memorable . . . but much more amusing in the case of Sedaris.
Sedaris likes to put together mosaics of seemingly unconnected memories that when combined show a different image and send a different message. It's a little like a Chuck Close portrait.
Like the best humorists, he takes us into her personal life . . . into the kinds of details that few of us would openly share with the public. In exchange for yielding his privacy, he helps us see ourselves in his experiences. Who hasn't struggled with a foreign language with embarrassing consequences? Who hasn't wanted to be a little more in some aspect of their lives? Who hasn't had trouble getting rid of a bad habit?
These themes and more are explored in well-written, interesting style that lacks only an overriding sense of meaning (other than that we are all a mess) to be important prose. Some of them are hilarious, breaking into images of burlesque skits in your mind. Others are more poignant than funny, using wry humor. But he mostly doesn't stretch; rather, he expresses who he is and how he sees life.
As a former smoker, former heavy drinker, former drug user, and current homosexual with a fascination for feeding spiders, some aspect of his life will intersect with yours. But at the same time, he has exotic tastes (spending a lot of time in Normandy, learning not to smoke in Tokyo, and traveling from city to city reading his essays while staying at the finest hotels) that will make his lens different than yours. You'll never see the world the same way, as Proust changed our perceptions of madeleines.
Is it worth the trip? Yes, but I advise small reading doses. It goes down more smoothly that way.
What to do When... August 15, 2008
What to do when you are engulfed in flames?? This funny set of personal anecdotes from David Sedaris is clever, witty and downright hilarious. This is my first David Sedaris book and it certainly won't be my last.
Among some of the best "Sedaris moments" include: the long arduous yet funny attempts to stop smoking, his obsessions with his parents, what to do when your neighbor is a sex offender, and hilarious attempts to buy a human skeleton.
The book is universally funny and is meant to be read aloud for maximum humor effect. One of the better books I've read this year.
 When You Are Engulfed In Flames July 31, 2008
Very funny! Laugh out loud funny... Hugely entertaining take on so many awkward encounters. Looking forward to my next Sedaris book.
When you are engulfed in flames. July 25, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
When you are engulfed in flames is a wonderful book, but not every fan of Sedaris is going to be happy. This isn't as funny as his other stuff, it's darker, more mature, and more personal than his other work. If you can still get past that, then you'll like this book. It's still funny, but it's a different kind of humor.
Don't read this expecting Me talk pretty one day. Read this with an open mind, and you'll enjoy it.
A Bit Darker Than His Usual Offerings, Still Wonderful July 24, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've been a fan of David Sedaris for a few years now, and have read and re-read his books many times, often for the novel experience (for me) of laughing out loud while reading; few writers are as honest and funny.
This book didn't make me laugh out loud, but I enjoyed it hugely nonetheless, it is a bit deeper, a bit darker, and perhaps more thoughtful and personal than his previous writing.
I look forward to more writing from this author, and I congratulate him on his accomplishment with this latest book.
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