When You Are Engulfed in Flames

If you’re looking for continuous pleasure in a book (nearly demented and otherwise) then this is the one for you. Unplug your television, switch your phone to vibrate, and switch your vibrator to OFF. Once the cat is fed and you’re as comfy as can be on the couch, get up once more because you forgot the glass of wine, then sit back down to the precious storyteller that is David Sedaris.

His writing in When You Are Engulfed in Flames is just that: precious. Only, Sedaris’ ideas are something that you call precious when really you want to slap a Post It on his back explaining that he’s a tad off his rocker (don’t speak to him though, because he’ll write about you).

 But, get ready to laugh on the floor, tear up, and yell obscenities in agreement; but not all at once, you’ll look bedeviled. Reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames will have this effect. Sedaris is sweet yet leaves a taste in your mouth you can’t quite put your finger on, but you love the way it tingles so you take another bite. All of the stories that make up the book show that he’s a sincere man who nearly loves life, has a fascination with death, and lives fancy-free by making odd situations odder. Like when he talks of almost nearly sort of befriending a pedophile or of accidentally spitting a throat lozenge onto the lap of a woman next to him and scurrying off before she notices.

The stories read like snippets of Sedaris’ life, which almost always end on a thoughtful note. Be nice to people on the plane, but an asshole on the inside and start swim races with the autistic to feel better about yourself are some of the life lessons you’ll learn from the book. Well, he doesn’t say them so plainly, but that’s the gist. His prose is saccharine, abstruse, and to the point when describing the scenes of his childhood and travels. He doesn’t get analytical about the whole the mess, just drips some simple thoughts on your tongue to keep you interested. Sedaris’ writing is like that of the god Truman Capote. When You Are Engulfed in Flames reads like Capote’s masterfully crafted anthology The Dog’s Bark: Public People and Private Places.

Unlike Capote, though, David really lets it all hang out. One will get a real sense of exactly how odd the man is. He stirs his imagination, pokes it, licks it, and, in an act of extreme curiosity, tears it open with his bare hands. After a few chapters, you’ll begin to question how one single person could have so many unheard of moments to write about. That’s almost child abuse, you’ll think, or No way he’s done that. I thought gay men had it made; but sit down and hush up, because it’s all true. From placing headshots of terrorists in the windows of his French home in an attempt to ward off a group of frisky finches, to giving house spiders nametags and casting them away on European adventures, Sedaris has many things to write about, and an excellent prose to cast them in.

About David: He grew up in Raleigh, California with a handful of siblings and unconventional parents. He left the house after his mother died of smoking and met – this you will learn in the book – many transient characters on the way to a destination he didn’t know. He’s a gay man; although he often refers to himself and other gays as “homosexual” or “faggy” (he uses ‘faggy’ the way it ought to be). His partner, Hugh, is a recurring character and a jumping off point for many of the stories. Regardless of your orientation, you will be jealous of Hugh, this is normal. When you turn When You Are Engulfed in Flames over, you will see David’s picture. Again, no matter your orientation, you will want to fold his face up and keep it in your back pocket with the hopes that he’ll whisper little wisdoms throughout the day. This is not normal.

Sedaris is an excellent storyteller. If this book is not in your hands they will fall off.