海角大神

Voice is paramount in first-person essays. David Sedaris鈥檚 slightly whiny, satirical twang and self-deprecating persona have become familiar and beloved, not just from his books 鈥� of which some 7 million copies are in print 鈥� but from his radio broadcasts and lecture tours, which fill concert arenas. By now, we hear his inflections when reading his favorite interjections, 鈥淚 mean, really,鈥� or 鈥淐ome on."

Readers looking forward to new installments of Sedaris鈥檚 endearingly eccentric chronicles will not be disappointed by When You Are Engulfed in Flames, his latest collection of 22 humorous personal essays, (although many have appeared previously in The New Yorker or elsewhere).

We all have our favorite character 鈥� whether it鈥檚 his sensitive, fear-mongering older sister, Lisa, who pushes grocery carts with her forearms to avoid germs; his wacky comedienne younger sister, Amy; or his impossibly capable, saintly boyfriend, Hugh, without whom he says he鈥檇 be totally lost.

Then, of course, there鈥檚 Sedaris himself 鈥� or at least the Sedaris he chooses to present to us: the asocial guy who strikes up friendships with outcast neighbors, the bumbler who can鈥檛 operate a car or computer, or the compulsive diarist who records his sisters鈥� confidences in a pocket notebook along with offbeat observations, which he then turns into profoundly funny, well-crafted stories that somehow, magically, bring home a major point about fidelity or guilt or love.

It鈥檚 all here again, yet none of it feels repetitive. Sedaris鈥檚 sixth collection follows 鈥淒ress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim鈥� (2004), which was wildly popular despite what his publisher called a 鈥渨illfully obtuse鈥� title. That book contained 鈥淩epeat After Me,鈥� which brilliantly captures the sticky aspects of milking your intimates for material and should be required reading for aspiring writers.

"When You Are Engulfed in Flames鈥� gets its title from a booklet with tips for 鈥淒isaster Damage Prevention鈥� that Sedaris found in a Hiroshima hotel room when he moved to Japan for three months to quit smoking.
For the most part, Sedaris finds his material close at hand 鈥� whether in the next airplane seat, a taxi, or banging against the window of his Normandy study. An essay about spiders evokes E.B. White鈥檚 鈥�Charlotte鈥檚 Web鈥� and his bulletins from Maine about creatures great and small. Sedaris鈥檚 focus, however, tends toward the absurdities crawling just beneath the surface of everyday life.

Sedaris, the linguistically challenged expatriate, makes a reappearance in 鈥淭he Waiting Room,鈥� which tells about the time, early in his struggles with French, when he misinterpreted a nurse鈥檚 instructions and found himself sitting in his undies in a Parisian doctor鈥檚 waiting room amidst fully clothed patients. This handicap doesn鈥檛 stop him from tackling Japanese during his three-month sojourn in Tokyo, a change of routine aimed at helping him break a 30-year smoking habit. It provides fresh material aplenty for the longest piece, 鈥淭he Smoking Section,鈥� which is destined to become a quit-lit (or quitterature) classic.

The draw, as always, is Sedaris鈥檚 utter lack of sanctimony and his use of humor as a portal to deeper feelings. Instead of insufferably touting his new purity, Sedaris recalls all those nasty habits he鈥檚 overcome 鈥� alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes 鈥� with wistful fondness. His honesty is refreshing.

Heller McAlpin, a freelance critic in New York, is a frequent contributor to the Monitor鈥檚 Book section.