I won this audiobook in a giveaway over at The Avid Reader's Musings a month or so ago. I normally don't buy myself audiobooks unless I am going on a long, solo road trip, so this was a treat for me and it certainly made my drive to and from work more enjoyable.Classified as a collection of "fables," Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk features absurd and clever short stories that include an array of animals that each offers a moral of sorts, emphasis on "of sorts". He highlights the amoral behavior of the animals to allow the reader to consider their own morality, or lack there of. I've heard that David Sedaris is a fantastic narrator to his audio books, and this held true throughout Suqirrel Seeks Chipmunk. However, to my disappointment there were only a handful of stories that were narrated by Sedaris. Of course some stories are more obscene and more entertaining than others, but I especially enjoyed the chapters that Sedaris narrates himself. This is my second Sedaris, and I have to say I enjoyed Me Talk Pretty One Day over this one, though it's hard to compare the two because they are so different. But, if you do get a chance to listen to this one on audio I wouldn't pass it up. It's definitely one-of-a-kind. I enjoyed this one more on audio than I think I would have had if I read the print version, simply because Sedaris' narration adds a lot to the stories. Publisher: Little, Brown, 2010
I may be one of the last people to discover how funny Davis Sedaris is. HILARIOUS. Choke-on-my-soup-laughing-during-lunch hilarious. And I'm not even one of those people who laugh out loud when she reads. Enter David Sedaris.
Me Talk Pretty One Day is a collection of personal essays that detail irreverent instances of Sedaris' life; from coping with a speech impediment, to taking guitar lessons from a midget, to living in France while struggling to speak French:
It got to the point where I'd see a baby in the bakery or grocery store and instinctively ball up my fists, jealous over how easy he had it. I wanted to lie in a French crib and start from scratch, learning the language from the ground floor up. I wanted to be a baby, but instead I just talked like one, a spooky man-child demanding more than his fair share of attention.
Sedaris is so funny because he's clever and he's witty. It's not hit you across the face funny, but goes just far enough without being presumptuous or overwrought. He's got the act of self-deprecation down to an art.
I enjoyed the book from the beginning, however I found part Duex especially funny. It is in this section that he details instances in his adult life, while living in New York City or France, with his partner whom he met when he borrowed his ladder. The stories in part Duex seem to flow a little nicer, creating a more cohesive storyline than the first half.
My very favorite essay in the book is entitled "Today's Specials" details the presumptuous food culture that exists in Manhattan; quarky ingredients in small proportions arranged on a plate to look like art but taste like cardboard:
What I really want is a cigarette, and I'm always searching the menu in the hope that some courageous young chef has finally recognized tobacco as a vegetable.
This is a refreshing little read, and I will continue to go back to Sedaris when I am craving something smart and funny.
Publisher: Little, Brown, 2000
