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48th out of 580 books
—
342 voters
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary
Featuring David Sedaris's unique blend of hilarity and heart, this new collection of keen-eyed animal-themed tales is an utter delight. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of everyday life.
In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck," three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiti...more
In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck," three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiti...more
Hardcover, First Edition, 159 pages
Published
September 28th 2010
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published January 1st 2010)
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David Sedaris is such a fudging ray of sunshine. I’m using the uncomfortable word “fudge” in this review as much as possible because I find it extra-obscene and sweetly domestic at the same time. Kind of like Sedaris. (Also, weirdly, I just found out that amazon.com will allow "fudge" as a replacement for "fuck," though to me there is a more obscene quality to "fudge," despite the fact that it is a yummy desert.) Anyway, I never realized before that it could make Sedaris' stories even more hilar...more
This book is a new story each chapter. The concept of Anthropomorphism makes you believe that this book will be excellent or is it because I had to wait on a HUGE waiting list from the library? Yes this book was in my mind terrible. The concept is that animals have human traits and I think the author was trying to show that people are judgmental hypocrites, especially when it comes to choosing friends, raising children, dating, religion etc. I think it is supposed to be funny because you can rel...more
34 likes · like · see review
David says that some journalist described this book as “bed time stories for children who drink”. Well said journalist, whoever you are.
It’s about animals behaving in the petty, vain, ignorant, arrogant way humans do. Not his best work, but it wasn’t terrible either.
It’s about animals behaving in the petty, vain, ignorant, arrogant way humans do. Not his best work, but it wasn’t terrible either.
11 likes · like · see review
Wow, this is ……I don’t know what or how to?…. So David Sedaris has written several essays from the point of view of different animals living in the wild and dealing with day-to-day issues. I can imagine that some people might have thought WTF? But I found it quite enjoyable, some were disturbing, but when you get right down to it situations that were plausible and true to life in the real world.
The Grieving Owl was my favorite, about an owl whose mate has died and dealing with his idiot family...more
The Grieving Owl was my favorite, about an owl whose mate has died and dealing with his idiot family...more
8 likes · like · see review
OMG! Heard him speak recently, and he read two stories from this book - due out in October. I'm not a huge fan of his satire, preferring his autobiographical stuff rather, but these stories were certainly funny and crowd-pleasing. Ian Falconer, author of the Olivia children's books, will be doing the illustrations. Can't wait!!
Got this for Christmas, and Whoa! Liked it way better than I thought I would - much harsher and more caustic than anything he's done before. Like Aesop but much scarier an...more
Got this for Christmas, and Whoa! Liked it way better than I thought I would - much harsher and more caustic than anything he's done before. Like Aesop but much scarier an...more
4 likes · like · see review
Bought this book so I could get a seat for the Sedaris reading/book signing at Changing Hands in December. I wanted to read it anyway, so seemed like a fair enough deal.
This is a new area for Sedaris, and seems to be a good fit for him. Although this collection is not my favorite thing of Sedaris' I've ever read, it was certainly entertaining. To be fair, judging this collection against his other essays is a bit of an apples-and-oranges situation. The stories contain some great satire about huma...more
This is a new area for Sedaris, and seems to be a good fit for him. Although this collection is not my favorite thing of Sedaris' I've ever read, it was certainly entertaining. To be fair, judging this collection against his other essays is a bit of an apples-and-oranges situation. The stories contain some great satire about huma...more
4 likes · like · see review
I love David Sedaris and this may be his best collection yet. "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" is a collection of short fiction stories about animals and is the perfect book for an afternoon. It's a quick read, but one that will warrent a revisit.
The stories seems simple, but have layers of meaning and often point to the faults that we have as humans. Sedaris uses animals to bring up taboo subjects and expose the ugly side of humanity. The stories often use humour as a deflection (and Sedaris really a...more
The stories seems simple, but have layers of meaning and often point to the faults that we have as humans. Sedaris uses animals to bring up taboo subjects and expose the ugly side of humanity. The stories often use humour as a deflection (and Sedaris really a...more
I wanted to love this book, I really did. I have seen Mr. Sedaris read live several times and have always found him hilarious, so I thought I would listen to the audio version and see if I fared any better than the print version had with most of the readers on here, who seemed to be left cold by this latest offering.
On the plus side for the audio version, you get not just David Sedaris, but the incomparable Elaine Stritch, who raises the level of positively everything she is associated with (the...more
On the plus side for the audio version, you get not just David Sedaris, but the incomparable Elaine Stritch, who raises the level of positively everything she is associated with (the...more
17 likes · like · see review
Wow, this book is incredibly disturbing! Instead of Sedaris's usual personal essays, here are dark, dark fables starring talking animals, each story brimming with all the horrible things people say and do to each other, and ending with an even more horrible zinger. The writing is clever, and I even chuckled occasionally, but I just couldn't get past the subject matter. (Picture adorable children's picture book pig Olivia with her eyes plucked out, and you have an idea about Ian Falconer's creepy...more
28 likes · like · see review
I normally like to listen to Sedaris read his books (so much of the humor is in his tone), but I wandered into a bookstore the day this one was released and couldn't resist it. I have listened to him enough that I heard this whole book in his voice anyway. The clerk in the bookstore where I bought it (who clearly was not familiar with Sedaris's work) had put it on a front table because he wasn't sure whether it belonged in the adult or children's section. It's most definitely not for kids. It's...more
5 likes · like · see review
I was unsure of how well I liked this one until the last story, which was awesome. Nearly every story includes an animal talking about his or her own asshole, or another animal's asshole. I was thinking the theme of the book is assholes. Then Caris came home and told me he'd watched The Human Centipede, which, he said, involves a whole lot of assholes. Then I realized the theme of the entire day must be assholes.
14 likes · like · see review
Up until page 131, I kinda hated this book and wanted to die a slow, boring death. Yeah yeah, I exaggerate. But anyway, those last 2 stories were absolutely phenomenal. Adorable and lovely; I kinda cried a little. Yeah yeah, I'm sentimental.
Nice little collection of short stories. They are funny in a weird kind of way. Many of the main characters remind me of various people I know. My girlfriend and I read the book together and we enjoyed it. The stories make for great light entertainment before bed and are good for a chuckle. The illustrations are spot on. The font is quite big, so the book isn't as long as it seems. My favourite story in the book happens to be about a dancing bear.
So under normal circumstances this is not something I would traditionally read. This is my August book club read and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Some of the stories were funny but others were a little too violent or mean spirited for me. Some of them were amusing like "Hello Kitty" and "The faithful Setter" and had a more positive slant to them. However more violent ones like "The crow and the lamb" or "The sick rat and the healthy rat" were more off putting for me. "The Grieving Owl...more
This was fun...a nice change of pace for a Sedaris book. I really like the style of these animal stories. It's hard to explain, in a way - this is definitely Sedaris' voice, so the stories are sort of just like his other stories but with animals. But the fairy tale quality of the animal stories lets him do some nutty things that he really couldn't do even if he was doing totally made up bits about his family and friends. They also can take very dark turns, and lots of animals die suddenly in the...more
I don't excatly like the idea of leaving negative reviews for books because I'm no author myself so who am I to critique someone else's work? Thus far, if I didn't like a book, I just left what I felt was an appropriate numbers of stars and moved on. Until today. Upon finishing Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, I was so annoyed with the purchase of this book that I had to tell someone! This was my first David Sedaris book and will definately be my last. I bought this yesterday and what a waste of $8! Thi...more
I bought this book because:
1) I had read a really, really great essay by David Sedaris about an episode from his childhood when his parents were considering buying a sea cottage. The essay was equal parts well-crafted, insightful, and humorous, making me want to read more from him.
2) I had a gift card to Barnes & Noble and this book was bargain priced, meaning I could get it and two others.
3) It was hardbound with a nice jacket, and I am a sucker for good-looking books (I was also tempted to...more
1) I had read a really, really great essay by David Sedaris about an episode from his childhood when his parents were considering buying a sea cottage. The essay was equal parts well-crafted, insightful, and humorous, making me want to read more from him.
2) I had a gift card to Barnes & Noble and this book was bargain priced, meaning I could get it and two others.
3) It was hardbound with a nice jacket, and I am a sucker for good-looking books (I was also tempted to...more
This book had several vignettes with animals exhibiting anthropomorphic qualities. Each vignette captured a different irony about the human emotional condition from a social perspective. I really felt like I should have enjoyed the book and "gotten it". However, I was neither able to find humor in the acerbic approach nor was I able to relate to qualities that were being dissected. Perhaps that is because I no longer find myself comparing myself to others around me. I no longer look for the nega...more
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris defies categorization. On one hand, the book of stories, subtitled "A Modest Bestiary," is about the everyday problems of an anthropomorphized group of animals. On the other hand, it's a deeply cynical, ironic, yet poignant look at the occasional stupidity of modern humans (actually, Americans). The book makes fun of everything, from adultery to parasites, journalists to weight problems to AA, Secret Santa consumerism to in-your-face-natural-birthers.
At...more
At...more
Ok, this is cute, and I get it. Sedaris has written Aesop’s Fables for adults. Here, a “bestiary” of animals have the same foibles as humans – vanity, uncertainty, gossip, snobbery, etc.
I think Sedaris is very funny (and the last story in this is a perfect example). However, overall I was a little underwhelmed. I think I love Sedaris best when he describes a situation along with the characters involved. He did this beautifully in The Santaland Diaries (where he was an elf a Macy’s during Christm...more
I think Sedaris is very funny (and the last story in this is a perfect example). However, overall I was a little underwhelmed. I think I love Sedaris best when he describes a situation along with the characters involved. He did this beautifully in The Santaland Diaries (where he was an elf a Macy’s during Christm...more
This should have been simply called, Sedaris Fables.
These are dark tales for the dark time that we live in. For those who did not get a laugh, I believe they had to do some serious soul searching as to what character they may be in these stories. I know a few people who are a menagerie in themselves. Yes, Sedaris goes to extremes to make his point. But he is creating fiction that blends so much of reality that it is hard not to see truth, unless you are not someone who already sees it. It will...more
These are dark tales for the dark time that we live in. For those who did not get a laugh, I believe they had to do some serious soul searching as to what character they may be in these stories. I know a few people who are a menagerie in themselves. Yes, Sedaris goes to extremes to make his point. But he is creating fiction that blends so much of reality that it is hard not to see truth, unless you are not someone who already sees it. It will...more
Call # SC SED Leisure Reading Bookcase--2nd floor
Personal Author Sedaris, David.
Title Squirrel seeks chipmunk : a modest bestiary / by David Sedaris ; illustrations by Ian Falconer.
Edition 1st ed.
Publication info New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2010.
Physical description viii, 159 p. : ill. ; 19 cm.
Contents The cat and the baboon -- The migrating warblers -- The squirrel and the chipmunk -- The toad, the turtle, and the duck -- The motherless bear -- The mouse and the snake -- The parenting sto...more
Personal Author Sedaris, David.
Title Squirrel seeks chipmunk : a modest bestiary / by David Sedaris ; illustrations by Ian Falconer.
Edition 1st ed.
Publication info New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2010.
Physical description viii, 159 p. : ill. ; 19 cm.
Contents The cat and the baboon -- The migrating warblers -- The squirrel and the chipmunk -- The toad, the turtle, and the duck -- The motherless bear -- The mouse and the snake -- The parenting sto...more
I am normally a huge fan of David Sedaris. I think I've read every other book he's written. However, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk was not my favourite. In this collection of short stories, David has infused familiar animals with some very human characteristics. Mice keep pets and owls seek knowledge while some larks vacation in South America. It's a very interesting concept and parts of it were fantastic; however, other parts were quite off putting.
This book is filled with Sedaris' style of humour....more
This book is filled with Sedaris' style of humour....more
Feb 15, 2012
M
added it
As you guys read earlier, my dad and I went to a David Sedaris book signing. We decided to get his newest book Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk signed for my grandfather, who's sense of humor is something else. And since Christmas was still a few weeks away, my family decided to capitalize on having the book in the house by all reading it. And before anyone gets up in arms, its something my entire extend family does.
So after the book signing that night, I settled in with Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk and start...more
So after the book signing that night, I settled in with Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk and start...more
Leave it to author David Sedaris to put together a collection of hilariously bizarre and twisted short stories featuring anthropomorphic critters.
“Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk” includes a total of 16 contemporary, adult-themed fables, each illustrating a moral lesson. Sedaris’ leap from memoir to fiction is delightfully irreverent and makes for a fun and fast read.
Each story presents a moral dilemma through the adventures of an animal endowed with human characteristics and quirks. Whether it is a sic...more
“Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk” includes a total of 16 contemporary, adult-themed fables, each illustrating a moral lesson. Sedaris’ leap from memoir to fiction is delightfully irreverent and makes for a fun and fast read.
Each story presents a moral dilemma through the adventures of an animal endowed with human characteristics and quirks. Whether it is a sic...more
Jan 22, 2012
Erin Kinstler
added it
This book, is definitely not a children's book, like i originally thought. The usage of animals and anthromorphic ideologies gave me a the false notion of a whimsical and child appealing book, and i was definitely mistaken. I had heard the name David Sedaris before, but i wasn't quite sure why i had, or why he was famous. Turns out, hes a very popular author with a somewhat sadistic and dark sense of humor. This essay collection of short stories places animals in real world situations. For examp...more
After reading this, I took a pencil and made a note by each of the 17 stories in the table of contents. Most read "ugh," a few read "blah," and then there were the few that really grabbed me: made me laugh and even pulled a bit at the heartstrings. (They totalled 3.) I couldn't even finish the last story, titled "The Vomit-Eating Flies."
If you've heard David Sedaris on the radio, you know what to expect: acidly funny observations on the human condition that usually end with the bitterest of bla...more
If you've heard David Sedaris on the radio, you know what to expect: acidly funny observations on the human condition that usually end with the bitterest of bla...more
This book should have been called "Contemporary Fables for Stupid People: Post-Modern Morals." I think I laughed twice while reading this book, which by the way, only took two hours because the type is real big and the plots are simple. Normally, I can count on David Sedaris for making me laugh so hard my stomach hurts. I did not have such belly laughs while reading "Randomness is the Point, Dumbie: Life Lessons by David Sedaris."
Perhaps Sedaris was out of material. Perhaps America was sick of...more
Perhaps Sedaris was out of material. Perhaps America was sick of...more
Was it well written? Yes. Were the parables clever? Yes. Did I like it? NO.
These 16 beast fables follow in the tradition of Aesop, Horace and La Fontaine. While I appreciate Sedaris's craftsmanship, I found the stories to be excessively gruesome and tongue-in-cheek, castigating a variety of modern fools without providing the "moral of the story" at the end.
Sedaris pokes fun at the sort of uneducated, bourgeois attitudes you find televised on Jerry Springer. Ignorance, hatred and fear lie at the...more
These 16 beast fables follow in the tradition of Aesop, Horace and La Fontaine. While I appreciate Sedaris's craftsmanship, I found the stories to be excessively gruesome and tongue-in-cheek, castigating a variety of modern fools without providing the "moral of the story" at the end.
Sedaris pokes fun at the sort of uneducated, bourgeois attitudes you find televised on Jerry Springer. Ignorance, hatred and fear lie at the...more
Extremely short, quick read that I didn't really find that enjoyable. The thing about most fables is, they have a point, either a lesson, or a warning, or something. These are dark portraits of human behavior at its worst, wrapped around stories about animals most of us find somewhat cute and cuddly. (Ok, maybe we don't feel that way about snakes and hippos, but whatever.) The stories for the most part are dark, gruesome and twisted, with no redemption whatsoever. After two or three, you pretty...more
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| Which story was your favorite? | 5 | 44 | Feb 13, 2013 01:13pm |
David Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist and radio contributor.
Sedaris came to prominence in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "SantaLand Diaries." He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. Each of his four subsequent essay collections, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997), Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000), Dress Your Fa...more
More about David Sedaris...
Sedaris came to prominence in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "SantaLand Diaries." He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. Each of his four subsequent essay collections, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997), Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000), Dress Your Fa...more
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“When her muzzle grew more white than brown, the chipmunk forgot that she and the squirrel had had nothing to talk about. She forgot the definition of "jazz" as well and came to think of it as every beautiful thing she had ever failed to appreciate: the taste of warm rain; the smell of a baby; the din of a swollen river, rushing past her tree and onward to infinity.”
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7 people liked it
“.. but all of a sudden they’re poets, right, like that’s all it takes — being in love.”
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6 people liked it
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Jan 29, 2011 06:56pm
updated Jan 31, 2011 03:42pm