When You Are Engulfed in Flames Book Review

Leave a Comment / Reviews / By admin

I can always count on David Sedaris to entertain me with self-deprecating, biting, eloquently delivered humor. Sedaris finds sophisticated ridiculousness wherever he goes — like moving to Japan for several months to quit smoking, buying a skeleton for his husband, Hugh, and accidentally sneezing out a throat lozenge onto the crotch of fellow plane passenger (who was fast asleep.) MyWhen You Are Engulfed in Flames book review:

When You Are Engulfed in Flames Summary

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris is a humorous collection of essays published in 2008. Through the essays, Sedaris offers a candid account of his own quirks and odd encounters. He dissects family dynamics and critiques his own neuroses. (He has plenty of rich material to pull from!)

One of the central essays, “The Smoking Section,” chronicles Sedaris’s attempt to quit smoking by moving to Tokyo. While there, he immerses himself in a foreign culture as a distraction from nicotine withdrawal. (While moving to Tokyo to give up smoking may seem dramatic and excessive, it seems about right for David Sedaris.) This piece captures his dark wit while exploring addiction, habit, and self-improvement. Like his efforts to learn French in Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris also attempts to master the Japanese language during his brief residency. In both examples, he hilariously exposes his knack for NOT excelling in multilingual efforts.

Sedaris reflects on everything from pet peeves to more profound topics like mortality and human connection. When You Are Engulfed in Flames showcases Sedaris’s gift for finding humor in awkward, uncomfortable, and absolutely strange moments in life.

David Sedaris Books in Order:

Here is a list of David Sedaris’ books in order. If (when) I review each, I’ll add a link to my review. You’re welcome.

1. Barrel Fever (1994) – A mix of essays and short stories that introduced Sedaris’s satirical humor to the world.
2. Naked (1997) – A collection of essays detailing Sedaris’s odd childhood and family dynamics.
3. Holidays on Ice (1997) – Essays and stories with a focus on holiday-themed tales, including the classic “SantaLand Diaries.”
4. Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000) – A series of essays, many about his move to France and attempts to learn French.
   • My Review
5. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (2004) – Essays exploring family relationships and life’s bizarre moments.
6. When You Are Engulfed in Flames (2008) – Known for the essay “The Smoking Section,” about quitting smoking in Tokyo.
   • The review you are reading now
7. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (2010) – A collection of animal-based fables, diverging from his usual autobiographical essays.
8. Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls (2013) – Essays about travel, love, and encounters with strangers.
9. Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977–2002) (2017) – A compilation of entries from Sedaris’s diaries, giving insight into his life and observations.
10. Calypso (2018) – A darker, more reflective collection about aging, family, and mortality.
11. The Best of Me (2020) – A curated collection of Sedaris’s favorite essays spanning his career.
12. A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003–2020) (2021) – A follow-up to Theft by Finding, featuring more of his diary entries.
13. Happy Go Lucky (2020) – Reflects on recent personal and societal events, with Sedaris’s characteristic humor and introspection.

David Sedaris Masterclass

Did you know David Sedaris teaches a class on storytelling and humor on MasterClass? Have I taken the class yet? No. But it is at the top of my list for “personal development” educational opportunities to help me become a better humor storyteller.

Now onto the rating! When You Are Engulfed in Flames book review:

My innovative system for rating humor books is explained here

Wholesomeness Score: 2/5

Per usual, David Sedaris’s material is not particularly clean nor wholesome. Plenty of swears, sexual references, drugs, alcohol, and owning a skeleton.

Hilarity Score: 3/5

Also per usual, Sedaris’s material is funny. This one didn’t resonate as absolutely hilarious to me, but it did have lots of subtly funny moments. He finds so many unique ways to make fun of himself and his life choices. Yet does so in a peculiarly sophisticated manner. Like explaining how he wore an artificial butt enhancer to hide (or falsely accentuate) his lack of a rear end.

Overall Book Awesomeness Score: 3.5/5 

Funny, thoughtful and entertaining. When You Are Engulfed in Flames offers oodles of quirky anecdotes from the author David Sedaris. Who else would move to Japan to quit smoking? I’m glad he did and thankful he documented his experience so thoroughly. I enjoyed some of the author’s other works more than this particular book. But maybe the smoking skeleton cover subconsciously freaked me out a little.

Things I liked:

• Sarcasm. Deep, deep sarcasm.
• He referenced Sioux Falls, SD! That’s where I live!

Things I didn’t like:

• skeletons
• smoking
• sometimes Sedaris’s stories are so dark and depressing, I don’t immediately recognize the humor buried in them.

Conclusion: Final Thoughts on When You Are Engulfed in Flames

This book continued to fuel my appetite for consuming more of David Sedaris’s work. He finds his way into some of the most awkward situations and explains his experiences in poetic, enlightening, and hilarious ways. And when the situation is not particularly awkward at all, he somehow manages to make it awkward. And as a reader, I appreciate his effort :)!

Just so you know – I could get an affiliate commission if you link from my site and buy a product. Hopefully, I’ll accumulate enough affiliate commission to buy myself a coffee someday! Not Starbucks or anything like that. But maybe a plain small coffee from a gas station on the edge of town.