Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

October 25, 2010
Like a modern-day Aesop or La Fontaine, Sedaris has his darkly comic and deeply cynical (if somewhat rambling) morality stories enacted by animals. Although Sedaris typically narrates his works solo, here he is joined by Dylan Baker, Siân Phillips, and (the incomparable) Elaine Stritch. The dry tones of both women are particularly well suited to the knowing commentary offered by various domesticated, barnyard, and wild animals on casual racism, self-congratulatory sanctimony, poor excuses for adultery, and fad spiritualism, among other common societal ills. The audiobook features a bonus fable not available in the text version of the book; in addition, the third CD includes PDFs of the book's illustrations by Ian Falconer (writer/illustrator of the Olivia picture book series). A Little, Brown hardcover.

David Sedaris's dark fables aren't warm or fuzzy--instead, they have bark AND bite. Talking animals stand in for people, saying and doing all the base things humans are capable of inflicting on each other. Sedaris, always so good at reading his own material, narrates just a few of the stories in this collection, while Elaine Stritch, Dylan Baker, and Si‰n Phillips take turns ably narrating the rest. Stritch, especially, seems to flawlessly channel Sedaris, hitting every sardonic note perfectly and even sounding sometimes uncannily like the author (or maybe it's the other way around). Together with illustrations by Ian Falconer (OLIVIA), the whole production walks the line between funny and disturbing. J.M.D. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

February 1, 2011

Sedaris succeeds in crafting a collection of stories about animals that are as humorous as the stories he writes about the humans in his life. Think of these stories as warped facsimiles of Aesop's Fables: some are a bit dark, others are more lighthearted--all have a message, albeit one presented in a somewhat quirky way. Sedaris's talent is large enough to make it all work. Sedaris himself reads, along with three other adept performers: Elaine Stritch, Sian Phillips, and Dylan Baker. Each tackles those stories best suited to his/her individual talents. Sedaris's fans will be pleasantly surprised by this offbeat little gem; recommended. [Includes a PDF of illustrations by children's book author Ian Falconer.--Ed.]--Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll.-Penn Valley Lib., Kansas City, MO

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