Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

Move over Aesop! David Sedaris' latest story collection brings together a group of tales (and tails) exploring the notion that the trials and tribulations of the animal kingdom aren't so different than our own.

Sedaris introduces his anthropomorphic cast of rodents, reptiles, felines and feathered friends through short stories much like Aesop's Fables, the famous collection from Classical Greece, then puts a dark spin on them in a style like Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland. These furry tales are definitely not written for children.

They're brutal, biting and at times gory. But above all, they're hilarious, and readers will easily catch glimpses of people they know within these stories (and the readers themselves, if their ego allows it).

For the legions of Sedaris fans familiar with his other works, you'll know that the author likes to poke fun at the hypocrisies and peculiarities of human nature. Whereas his past novels and story collections poked fun at humanity, Squirrel takes outright punches, and verges on cruel.

Sedaris' well-loved sense of dark humor is there, but seems to have taken a wrong turn somewhere as the tales progress. Thankfully, the darkness of the stories are countered with the outstanding (and original) illustrations by Ian Falconer, best known as the author/illustrator of the Olivia series of children's books.

As scathing as the stories can be in this collection, they all have a sense of truth.

There's "Hello Kitty," in which a cat struggles with attending AA meetings. In another story, a pet snake eats its owner, a mouse (who could have seen that one coming?). In another, a drug-addled mink seeks to sell its own fur coat for another fix. In "The Parenting Storks" a selfish mother stork comes across meaner than Mommie Dearest. Sedaris' snarky wit lightens up the mood periodically, though it remains decidedly dark through most of the collection.