SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK A Modest Bestiary

David Sedaris's dark fables aren't warm or fuzzy—instead, they have bark AND bite. Talking animals stand in for people, saying and doing all the base things humans are capable of inflicting on each other. Sedaris, always so good at reading his own material, narrates just a few of the stories in this collection, while Elaine Stritch, Dylan Baker, and Siân Phillips take turns ably narrating the rest. Stritch, especially, seems to flawlessly channel Sedaris, hitting every sardonic note perfectly and even sounding sometimes uncannily like the author (or maybe it's the other way around). Together with illustrations by Ian Falconer (OLIVIA), the whole production walks the line between funny and disturbing. J.M.D. 2011 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2010]