Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary

I loved this audio book!! The animals are much like the people we all know, love and dislike. Some are loving, others too gullible for their own good, and a few are outright greedy. This is not a 'happily ever after' group of stories, and neither is day to day life. There is a lots for us to laugh about however, and like life, if we did not have serious times, how would we appreciate the good times. I enjoyed every one of these stories and might listen to them again.

Purchase only, if you have a sense of humor. My view - What a delight! You have done it again Mr. Sedaris. I laughed out loud at many of the chapters. The narrators especially Ms. Stritch were on target. If you relish David Sedaris' right on commentary about human foibles, buy and enjoy. I hated to have it end.

I love the stories and ALL the performers are amazing. It's dark, absurb, funny, ironic and an incredible insight into human behavior - via woodland critters, of course.

I like David Sedaris, but this book was just way too sad. I felt like I was kicked in the stomach after every story. I love dark humor, but didn't find anything funny about the souless characters with no moral center in this book.

Several, maybe most, of these short stories are very very funny and so witty using the animal characters as people we all know. The first story with the animal hairdresser and her client left me in doubled over, and then others with Sedaris' wit and commentary on all of us humans, oh my! And really.... the twist with the gerbil, just was almost too too funny, this alone worth the credit (although yes hard to swallow, the book was so short).
Sadly, the few short stories that left me feeling cold and uninterested, unfortunately shadowed over the rest. I wanted to give more stars, at least a 3.5, but here is where I must sit.

I am loving this book. To those who were disappointed that David Sedaris did not narrate every story, shame on you. The narrators are perfect for the stories and, just like when you read David Sedaris in print, his voice in his writing is palpable; you hear him even when he is not speaking. Dark? Well, yes! His humor is often dark and his comments on the human condition are stark and real. That's David. I have completely enjoyed every story.

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.

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.

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.

I honestly don't know how to describe this book. It has a few laugh-out-loud moments, but mostly I found myself listening with half-smile and dumb-founded look on my face, trying to comprehend what I was hearing. Imagine David Sedaris, living as an animal.