Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk Review

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk Review

Just finished reading Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris.  It’s a collection of stories done in an Aesop fables style using animals in modern day situations. 

Sedaris tackles topics including alcoholism, racism and bigotry, self-pity and looking for love in all the wrong places.  The tales usually contain humor and some can be a bit graphic but you should be able to find a moral at the end.  The illustrations by Ian Falconer accompanying each tale are to be noted for their hold-no-punches sincerity as they give you a visual foothold to your mental picture of each story. 

Each section is only 3 – 5 pages long and the whole book can be read in a couple of hours should you choose to not put it down after some stories. 

If you’re a fan of Sedaris’ other works, you may want to add this one to round out your collection but Squirrel is definitely darker.  I also feel some of the stories may put off a casual reader for while there are hilarious moments, some of the fables are quite sad and the images accompanying the stories do nothing to alleviate the sorrow but instead are so haunting, the elevate it. 

He does end the book on a high note and the final tale had me cracking up so much that I would recommend borrowing this book from the library just for those few pages.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves their humor and doesn’t mind a bit of gore attached.   Be forewarned, this is dark, depressing humor if it exists.   You may be hard pressed to find a point to the cruel violence written of the “animal” world.   If you are able to get through the original Grimm Fairy Tales and Aesop’s Fables, then you’ll enjoy these parables.

To learn more about Sedaris and his works, check out his Wiki page here. 

If you are interested in purchasing this book here are the link:

Amazon: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
B&N: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

Enjoy!

Tiffany