When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

David Sedaris' latest collection features stories from both his childhood and the present. In "The Understudy," the reader gets a glimpse of the women with whom David's parents entrusted their children to when they went on vacation by themselves and in "Adult Figures Charging Toward a Concrete Toadstool," Sedaris humorously discusses the differences between himself and his parents when it comes to collecting art. The best stories covering his adult life are "Solution to Saturday's Puzzle" and "The Smoking Section." "Solution" is about Sedaris' misadventures with his seatmate on a plane and "Smoking," the longest story in the book, covers his three months living in Toyko in an attempt to quit smoking. While I enjoyed the collection, I long for more stories about him growing up. His book, Naked, with classic stories like "Get Your Ya-Ya's Out!" and "Dinah, the Christmas Whore" is my favorite.