Saturday, June 21, 2008

Book Review: When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Humor in almost any form (film, music, print) is difficult to navigate. While a certain percentage of people may laugh at anything, most people are more discriminating. Smart humor is an even more slippery slope, but no one negotiates it better than David Sedaris. His ability to take the remarkable and the pedestrian and find humor in both is unique and much harder than many people realize. Translating that humor into writing is even more difficult, but he does it and does it well.

At his best, Sedaris is able to evoke laughter from his readers while also causing them to think about what they have just read. Reactions often range from relief that the event in question has not happened to them to the dawning realization (or horror) that they have been in a similar situation. Past essays such as "Dinah, the Christmas Whore," "Rooster at the Hitching Post," and "Baby Einstein" all find the balance between being funny and being reflective without falling into the writer's sand trap of bathos.

If the essays in When You Are Engulfed in Flames do not always reach the giddy heights of Sedaris's past works, they still have the wry, trenchant humor that has made Sedaris famous. From discussing his fashion mishaps (shopping in the women's department with his sister) to detailing his attempts to stop smoking, Sedaris's wit is as sharp as ever. Perhaps the most noticeable difference between Sedaris's earlier works (Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, etc.) and When You Are Engulfed in Flames is a prominent shift in subject matter. While many of the essays in his other books are about growing up and dealing with his various family members, this book focuses more on Sedaris's present. Hugh, his boyfriend, plays a more prominent role in these essays, while Amy, Lisa, Paul, and the rest of the Sedaris clan are the featured players.

This approach is not, by any means, a bad thing. Instead, it offers readers a different perspective on Sedaris and his world, and it allows Sedaris more time for self-exploration and social commentary. Furthermore, the essays in When You Are Engulfed in Flames build upon the traits that Sedaris discusses about himself (and his family) in his other works. "The Smoking Section" makes an interesting follow-up to Naked's "A Plague of Tics." Lisa's reaction in "It's Catching" is more understandable after reading "Repeat After Me" in Dress Your Family... Consequently, Sedaris's new book is able to give readers a new look at the author while also expanding upon ideas and themes in his past books. This is not necessarily a kinder, gentler David Sedaris, but it is a look at his adult life that we haven't seen before. While I would like to hear more about his brother Paul and niece Madelyn (whom Sedaris has said he would not write about), I am enjoying the new view of Sedaris's world.