Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris (PurpleRoses)

I saw that David was coming out with a new book. I was very excited and the moment it was available to me from the library, I rented it. I have read I think literally all his other books, from Naked to Barrel Fever, and maybe my personal favorite, Me Talk Pretty One Day. I loved all of them. I went out and purchased them so I could re-read them at will. I had many laugh-until-you cry moments. Yes, there were some serious times in the stories, but the overarcing theme was humor, albeit self-depreciating at times. I was expecting mor eof the same with this latest installment. I was sorely disappointed. It was like he reached to the depths of depravity to bring these stories to light. The tales all had animal protagonists, there were humans in secondary roles in a couple stories. But these animals dealt with human things such as domestic violence, faith, infidelity, racism. They brought out every negative thing about society and played it out in various forms through the stories. The stories are dark, gory, morose, depressing. From the bear with maggot-infested legs, to the death of numerous baby animals and the first-hand accounts of lab rats and chickens at a farm. I have not read the original Grimm's Fairy Tales, but I imagine if they were even more depraved and featured more animal protagonists (using the term loosely by the way, since there is not really a single character you can legitimately like), then they would indeed be this book. I may also add, the classy color illustrations of various horrors from the stories, including a hippo's back end in detail, a dying baby lamb with its eyes pecked out, and a one-eyed hen having her neck wrung. If I said that Hell for me would be seeing animals harmed, this book is like a how too guide. These creatures have horrible fates befall them in every story, no matter how they try to avoid them. As I said, these stories are very cynical, and very dark. The best thing I can say about this book is that it points a mirror on society that you can use to gauge where you'd fall. Are you racist? Are you unfaithful? Are you too judgmental? This list goes on, but you get my point. There is an underlying message that we focus on the wrong things for happiness. Like the aforementioned hippo, who has leeches living in her behind (sorry for detail but it is needed for context)The leeches sing, and an owl, who was the one who noticed they sang had this to say:"To live in a damp crowded *behind* and sing- if these guys don't know the secret to living, I don't know who does." Now he did use more crass language, but that is the basic statement . So I suppose if you get past the horror, the language, and the gore...there are a couple grains of "wisdom" mixed in somewhere near the bottom. Now, in closing I would like to add I have never read any of David's articles,I have only read his books. This, to me, is an almost complete departure from what I am used to from him. I was very shocked, but it was simple morbid curiosity and the hunt for those little pearl of wisdom that lead me front cover to cover. I would rate this book 1 1/2 of 5 stars, because of the little pearls I mentioned, and also there was a bit of humor mixed in, some dark, some not as bad.

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