If you've followed this blog at all - maybe there are a couple of you out there - you'll know that I'm a big fan of David Sedaris' work. I read three of his books in last year's challenge: Barrel Fever, Naked, and When You are Engulfed in Flames (you can follow the links to my reviews, if you like). His stuff is not everybody's cup of tea, however. He is often raunchy and offensive, and is very open about his sexuality (he's gay). At the same time his work can be quite poignant, and it often speaks to life's little truths. One thing for sure - he's almost always hysterically funny
Book 14 - Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk - David Sedaris
In his most recent book, Sedaris departs from his usual essays about people and presents a group of animal fables. Like Aesop, these tales are meant to spotlight the downside of some of the less than desirable behaviors people sometimes exhibit, but rather than hit you over the head with the moral, Sedaris tends to leave things open-ended, and let the reader fill in the lesson to be learned. There is the gossiping primate hairdresser in "The Cat and the Baboon," who in trying to connect with her feline customer, tries topic after topic until she can find something that they both can hate. In "The Motherless Bear" a bear suffers a great loss, but becomes addicted to the sympathetic attention and milks it to a tragic end. In "The Grieving Owl", an owl seeks knowledge for knowledge's sake, which earns him the ridicule of the rest of his family, which are happy in their ignorance.
As I said, I'm a fan. I loved this book, and for the beginner, it actually might be a kinder gentler introduction to Sedaris' work, but that is somewhat relative. His work, in general, is not for the easily offended. But if you like that kind of stuff, and I just happen to love that kind of stuff, you'll probably like this book.
Apparently, these stories were not all written recently. Several of these tales have appeared over the years on This American Life, the public radio program on which Sedaris frequently appears. There is something about listening to Sedaris read his own work that makes it even funnier. So for those of you who want to sample a bit before you run out and get the book, or for those just too lazy to read it, I have provided links to the episodes (and the specific acts) in which various stories appear. I can't speak to whether they are all in the exact form that wound up in the book. Some of these are from four or five years prior to the publishing of the book, so it's certainly possible that some of them may be from an earlier draft of the story. I'm sure they will give you the gist of the story, though. Feel free to give them a listen.
BTW - for some reason I had trouble with some of these in the Chrome browser, but when I switched to Firefox it worked.
The Cow and the Turkey:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/305/the-this-american-life-holiday-spectacular?act=4
The Squirrel and the Chipmunk:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/308/star-crossed-love?act=3
Hello Kitty:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/309/cat-and-mouse?act=2
The Parrot and the Potbellied Pig:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/315/the-parrot-and-the-potbellied-pig?act=3
The Sick Rat and the Healthy Rat:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/415/crybabies?act=4
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