"When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris

For my humor book selection I read When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. The book is a collection of 22 essays based on events that have occurred in Sedaris’ life. These essays feature his siblings (including his likewise famous humorist sister, Amy), his boyfriend, Hugh, and many other memorable oddball characters. In “The Understudy,” Sedaris describes the awful week during his childhood that he and his brother and sisters spent with the babysitter from hell when his parents went on vacation. Another eccentric character is Helen, a rude and annoying old lady who lives in the apartment next to Sedaris and Hugh in New York. Although she is the building’s gossip and troublemaker, in the end she turns out to be a good friend and is truly missed by Sedaris in “That’s Amore.” The final long essay, “Smoking Session,” is a memoir of Sedaris’ struggle to quit smoking, which involves living in Japan for three months and studying the Japanese language. These essays all contain hilarious descriptions of unusual situations and people.
I was also intrigued by the skeleton smoking a cigarette on the cover of the book. No it is not graphic art by some unknown artist. It is an early painting of Vincent van Gogh entitled “Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette.” And, it does give depiction to some of the themes presented in the essays—smoking, death, the death of Sedaris’ mother from lung cancer after smoking for decades.
The language and some of the references to sex in the essays make them geared toward adults looking for a good laugh. I would not recommend Sedaris to teens or to adults looking for a G-rated read.