Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

A Modest Bestiary

By: David Sedaris

Narrated by: David Sedaris, Sian Phillips, Dylan Baker, Elaine Stritch

Length: 3 hrs

Publisher's summary

This collection of sharply observed animal-themed tales is a delight, told with David Sedaris's trademark blend of hilarity and goodnaturedness. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of our own everyday interactions.

In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck", three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaint line. In "Hello Kitty", a cynical feline struggles to sit through his prison-mandated AA meetings. In "The Squirrel and the Chipmunk", a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudiced family members.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2010 David Sedaris (P)2010 Hachette Audio

not what you expect

What would have made Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk better?

if the discription was better

What do you think your next listen will be?

something less graphic

Would you listen to another book narrated by the narrators?

yes

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk?

the one about the birds eating bugs from decaying human heads

Not very funny

I am a David Sedaris fan. In the past I have found humor in his dark comedic storytelling. This book, however did not elicit one laugh. Some of the stories have fable like tones but for the most part this book is just a downer. Disappointing to say the least. If you are a fan, read the other reviews and wisely...skip this one.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

Unpleasant, even sadistic-sad use of animals. I expected to be educated or uplifted. Instead it was depressing. Actually I stopped listening after the fifth allegory.

Oh Davis... tsk tsk tsk

I have read David Sedaris for what is conceivably .forever. I listen to this American Life. I go to his readings when he is in Portland. I have always loved his work. But, for the love of Christ... this book is awful. It breaks my heat. The first chapter, I let it pass. Sure it reeked of the most intense mediocrity. But, hey.. It was David. The second chapter... The third. Oh my god! It felt like a betrayal. And, if not a betrayal... well, then a death in the family. The feeling was the same as when I first realized my beloved Grandfather had Alzheimers. I can hear his voice. But, the words are crazy and childish... and. I don't f--king know. Mr. Sedaris has always written about supposedly real occurrences, He describes and modifies them with his own incredible voice. This is a collection of random normal occurrences, true or not they are boring, The twist? Is to take such things as normal cocktail banter and replace what would be humans with animals. A parrot and a pig clumsily happen upon romance over drinks at a party. UGH! David!!! "April In Paris" -- A brilliant anthraporm--blah0blah- of a spider. It was lovely. But, all the crap we hear in our daily lives placed into the mouths of beasts????!!! F--k off!

Depressing

A brutal look at the dark side of human nature. Never funny, very painful. A depressing book.

Weak idea and just as weak effort

For all the fans that Sedaris has garnered over the years with his twisted humor, you would think his editor would set the bar a bit higher - not just conceptually but regarding execution. How many anthropomorphized "animals talking like humans" premises have we heard in long and short form, done so much better and without the juvenile ugly gross-out extremes ? Not original, not well thought out, not a reasonable length (try burned length on cd of 2 1/2 cds...). Not much value for your money - and this is the opinion of a long time fan. The extreme gross-out stuff is not so cute or deeply creative either. One or two stories in a much larger collection might have worked - but to base every story in his so called 'book' on the same hackneed idea - well it would have been difficult for a much better humorist.
I have heard many stories of Sedaris's where feel you are getting disappointed but you still feel compelled to cut him some slack because of his past best work and you keep listening hoping to reveal a new gem and ultimately your effort is wasted. Save yourself an Audible credit and skip this one - or find in a library if you must. You'll thank me. If you bought it already, ask his editor why they let him release this drivel. Wait - as I see from the NY Times Best Seller list - I know why. Purely to milk the cash cow of his fan base. It's my last Sedaris purchase - I wonder how many other fans will feel the same way after reading/hearing it.

Boring!

Sedaris apparently isn't funny when not writing about himself. Not a single entertaining moment in this book. Do yourself a favor and skip this turkey.

Harsh, Depressing, and Terrible Narration

Love David Sedaris, hated this book. To me, his fiction has never been his strong point, and in this case it is painful to listen to at all. The cruelty and nastiness imposed upon his animal characters was off-putting. The narrations only made it worse. I'll dump this one and look forward to his next work of non-fiction.

Narration Matters

Most of this book is not narrated by David Sedaris, obviously, and this proves to be a huge mistake. I have heard the first story in this book narrated by both David Sedaris and the person who narrates it in this book, in the first case it was very funny but in the second you are left asking yourself what was the bigger waste of time - recording that story or listening to it. Narration matters and David Sedaris is one of the best there is and it just boggles the mind that he did not narrate this entire book.

Love animals, hated this book

I found this book disappointing, crude, and not at all funny. Couldn't really relate any of the stories to real situations, but maybe that's just me. This is not at all what I expected and should have paid more attention to the negative reviews. I'm a long time listener of books from Audible, but this one was truly awful. This book has recieved a lot of attention in the press but because of the author not the story. Too bad.