"It’s not often that a writer makes me laugh out loud, but [David] Sedaris does. He brings me to tears. It’s to the point where I can’t read his writing in public because people think I’m having some kind of meltdown. In this collection of essays, [When You Are Engulfed in Flames] he has a way of finding humour in the strangest and most painful moments, like a week with a creepy baby-sitter, or the death of his mother."

"Most of my recent essays include a reference to Jane Austen and to my mum. I read and reread "Persuasion" for its painful rendering of love that continues in the absence of an object, and for the delicacy of its heroine’s goodness. Anne, in the sadness of what she believes to be her ruined life, can be concerned to prevent a country walk from being spoiled by her sister Mary-- a marvelous depiction of obnoxiousness. And the happy ending is delicious."