When You are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris

Sedaris is a wizard at stirring up the haunts of his past in a witty nihilistic manner that leaves the reader rolling and wondering how the next short story could possibly compete with the one just completed. I read this story on a trip recently and ended up reading a number of the stories out loud to pass the time. It seemed that even more of the humor came forth when the inflection one's tone was heard from reading out loud, but there were a few parts that I could barely get through for laughing so hard.

A few of my favorite stories/characters: a middle aged landlord that shares Sedaris love of all things old, a cuss-happy neighbor in a NY apartment that Sedaris has a soft spot for, his childhood house and neighborhood, and his account of his love of cigarettes, what led him to quit smoking and how he went about it.

This anthology is undoubtedly for the adult reader due to language and mature content, but this should not dissuade the prude. The crude does now outshine the hilarity of what Sedaris calls life.