Sunday, April 18, 2010

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

I had read one of his other novels a year or so ago (Me Talk Pretty One Day) and had really liked it.

This too was an engaging read although I felt like the different anecdotes and chapters were somewhat choppy in the way the novel flowed. Obviously it isn't your typical novel with a linear plot, which was fine, but some of the transitions between the chapters I felt were really abrupt.

There was definitely this underlying idea of how sometimes the very things that we judge/laugh at others for, we're just as guilty of the same things. I liked that. I also liked how although he talks about more difficult issues (i.e. death), the way he maneuvers around it in a matter-of-fact but not cold way was really well done. He was remember these people that affected him yet, it wasn't focused around the death of the person and it wasn't morbid and although it was somewhat funny, I felt like he really was able to have it be a happy reminiscing rather than a lamentation of a person's death or a fluffed up version of person because they were dead.

I don't think I'd pick this novel up again though because it isn't really academic (nor is it meant to be) though perhaps if I were in the mood for some good, funny reading that I knew wouldn't disappoint, I'd maybe pick it up again.

I would recommend this to most readers because of the way some of his illustrations are creative yet so aptly put and it's an easy read. There's also more to the book than meets the eye, but even if these points are missed, it doesn't retract too much from enjoying the book.

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