From the publication of his first book, Barrel Fever, I've been an ardent reader of David Sedaris humor. I've even paid big money to hear him speak. But his latest work, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, is far less than a "modest bestiary." It's just bestial. In fact, I'm not sure what these brief forays into the animal kingdom are supposed to be: morality plays? social commentary? a modern-day rendition of Orwell's Animal Farm? a Sedaris version of Aesop's fables? Call me old-fashioned, but I'm not capturing the archetype here.
I'll still remain a Sedaris fan, but I'm glad this was a "modest" book. Anything more lengthy and I would have shelved it (as I do other books that don't capture my interest or intellect).
Having said that, there were a few smoldering embers in these pages that hinted at the presence of fire, but most of these turned out to be false alarms. Dogs, cats, owls, rats, sheep . . . Sedaris takes on all forms of rodent, fowl and livestock and anthropomorphizes them into various shapes and attitudes and voices, but I'm afraid I just couldn't make the leap necessary to socialize with his wild kingdom.
I'll eagerly await his next book, but until then . . . I'll relegate this book the barn.
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