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Powell's Staff: 12 Books to Add to Your 2022 Summer Reading List (1 comment)
Summer has finally found its way to Portland. The bright, blue days are perfect for grabbing a blanket, filling your picnic basket with goodies, and going to the park with a good book...
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  • Kelsey Ford: Powell's Picks Spotlight: Lidia Yuknavitch's 'Thrust' (0 comment)
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Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk A Modest Bestiary

by David Sedaris
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk A Modest Bestiary

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ISBN13: 9780316038393
ISBN10: 0316038393
Condition: Standard
DustJacket: Standard

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Awards

Staff Top 5s 2010 2010 Powell's Staff Top 5s

Staff Pick

Sedaris diverges from his usual essays to give us a book of fables. Like all good fables and fairy tales, they're pretty gruesome and horrifying, and there's most always a moral to be found. These include a healthy dose of charm and wit, though. Ian Falconer provides the fabulous illustrations. Recommended By Tom L., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

Featuring David Sedaris's unique blend of hilarity and heart, this new collection of keen-eyed animal-themed tales is an utter delight. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of everyday life.

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.

Once again David Sedaris shows us the most outrageous, tender, absurd sides of ourselves in his profoundly funny, well-crafted stories that somehow, magically, bring home a major point about fidelity or guilt or love (Christian Science Monitor on When You Are Engulfed in Flames).

Review

"The stories from Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary are a combination of absurd anthropomorphic animal characters initially exhibiting somewhat natural a behavior but then rabbit-trailing (no pun intended) off into strange dialogues and monologues. This is the clever framework to support Sedaris' astute and uncanny interpersonal observations. His filter of the world is as hysterically bizarre as it is painfully spot-on. His distinctive turn of phrase is as sharp as ever." Venus Zarris, Chicago Stage Review

Video


About the Author

David Sedaris is a playwright and a regular commentator for National Public Radio. He is also the author of the bestselling Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, Dress Your Family in Corduroy, Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames and Me Talk Pretty One Day. He travels extensively though Europe and the United States on lecture tours and lives in France.

4.7 20

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating 4.7 (20 comments)

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Waney , December 31, 2012 (view all comments by Waney)
Got this for Christmas, and Whoa! Liked it way better than I thought I would - much harsher and more caustic than anything he's done before. Like Aesop but much scarier and meaner. I'd read it again too just to enjoy his perfect command of everyday American speech. He is a national treasure.

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meganpbruun , August 05, 2012
I really enjoyed Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. Sedaris used a common medium in a new way, and I think he pulled it off nicely.

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Ultimate_Bookworm , July 16, 2012 (view all comments by Ultimate_Bookworm)
When I first opened this bestiary, after curiously spying it several times at book stores, I was shocked at how different it was from what I had imagined. My (humble) guess was that Sedaris had written a compilation of cute short stories that came from the view of various animals. If I had read any of his books before, perhaps I would've known the state of these stories. But my surprise, I think, made the book that much better. David Sedaris's "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" symbolizes our behaviors by writing them from animals themselves; the hair stylist baboon and the pet-loving mouse are only part of the story. You'll love these tales (even the slightly disturbing ones) and maybe, just maybe, they'll teach some obscure riddle of what is our society.

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Maggie_S , June 06, 2011 (view all comments by Maggie_S)
Like Aesop's for adults. Maybe slightly twisted adults.

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Taborgirl , February 22, 2011 (view all comments by Taborgirl)
Imagine love from a chipmunk’s view. Or the flawed compassion of a mouse and his pet snake. Or a worker uprising instigated by a whiny, foul-mouthed duck. David Sedaris’ tiny book of quirky animal tales has at least one little gem on the human condition in every chapter. His comical new-world bestiary shines a pretty harsh light on our motivations, flaws, and goodness.

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wazzufrogg , January 28, 2011
Lovely and absurd, just how I like my Sedaris.

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L-PDX , January 14, 2011
Another fun book by the talented Mr. Sedaris. His stories never cease to entertain the reader. This time around his characters are all animals - literally. While they participate in human activities and interact like people, their animal-nature often determines their fate. The idea of a dog-eat-dog world, as well as survival of the fittest, comes to mind while reading these short tales. Fantastic illustrations accompany the stories and make reading the book even more enjoyable. If you're in the mood for a quick, clever and humorous read, be sure to check out this new book.

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Ada Jean , January 10, 2011
A delightful easy read that jabs at American society with humor. The illustrations complement the short stories beautifully, and the characters' adventures create many moments of laughter for the reader.

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chipqmunk , January 05, 2011
At the same time I love the tiny stories, I also wish for more. David Sedaris' animals are teaching me to be a better human.

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voodooguru , January 05, 2011
this book made me laugh out loud multiple times. david sedaris has a deeply simple way of writing, that jackhammers into my mind with his words!!

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lindamckown , January 04, 2011 (view all comments by lindamckown)
Love this book, because it freaked me out at times! Sedaris is too funny!

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William Henry , January 03, 2011
I have been a fan of David Sedaris since I first heard a broadcast of his work on NPR (probably apartment cleaning in NYC or the Santaland Diaries). I have read his subsequent books and enjoyed them greatly, but even I was not prepared for how good this book was. It is definitely Sedaris' best (so far). Thank you David and I hope this vote helps you win.

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Laurette McGee , January 01, 2011
I always find all books by David Sedaris very enjoyable. He never fails to entertain.

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SSCoagan , January 01, 2011
I love David Sedaris!

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rhythmspiral , January 01, 2011
Sedaris writing fables?! My only disappointment is that he didn't do it sooner.

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rayprq , January 01, 2011
Delicious and devious: this is Sedaris at his comic best, this time channeling adult farce into the personifications of crazy animal characters in fictional stories that are a far cry from children's fairy tales - these are all adult bedside readings that will leave you laughing and smiling before the snooze!

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mgtr6070 , December 13, 2010 (view all comments by mgtr6070)
This is an excellent book. I loved it and as I was reading it I was sure that some would not love it. Mr. Sedaris renders his modern day fables with great skill and with all the transgressive content of traditional stories everywhere. Grimm's fairy tales are pretty risque' in their original, many traditional Native American, indigenous African, and Asian tales are just as surprising in their violence, sexuality, and cruelty. These are wonderful and can be takan, like any fine fable, simply as wonderful stories or as something deeper.

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oregonrice , November 27, 2010
After hearing David Sedaris read The Cat and Baboon story on NPR, I couldn't wait to pick up Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. It did not disappoint. In each story, you'll recognize people you know in each of the animals. There's an almost inevitable twist in each tale, but arrived at in such a clever fashion that you just have to marvel at Sedaris' warped sense of humor. Haven't we all had days when we've had enough of an overly optimistic acquaintance and secretly wished something would wipe the smile off their perky face? The horrific conclusion to the story about the lab rats might forever cure you. I am only sorry that I heard Sedaris read this book first, as it does loose some of his wonderful delivery when read silently. P.S. To think the illustrator of the beloved Olivia books could sketch such truly sick pictures is mindblowing!

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Bookwomyn , November 20, 2010 (view all comments by Bookwomyn)
If one could look inside David Sedaris' brain we would find the most amazing landscape ever seen! In his new book "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" he takes us on a wild ride of imagination ... peeking into the rectum of a hippo or attending AA meetings with cats and a naked mink. How does he think up these things? Sedaris is a national treasure and I adore him.

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gohaku , October 09, 2010
I am not a huge fan of David Sedaris but when I heard a reading of "The Sick Rat and The Healthy Rat" from a recent episode of This American Life, I became a fan instantly. The short stories from Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk reminded me much of Aesop's Fables but with a modern twist to them. The Illustrations in SsC are cute except when they are gruesome and the language and themes in this book are of adult nature. Overall, it is a good book and I look forward to a sequel to this wonderful book.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780316038393
Binding:
Hardcover
Publication date:
09/28/2010
Publisher:
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP
Pages:
176
Height:
.89IN
Width:
5.29IN
Thickness:
1.00
Number of Units:
1
Illustration:
Yes
UPC Code:
4294967295
Author:
Dylan Baker
Author:
Ian Falconer
Author:
Elaine Stritch
Author:
David Sedaris
Author:
Sian Phillips
Author:
Ian (ILT) Falconer
Author:
David Sedaris

Ships free on qualified orders.
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$8.50
List Price:$24.00
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