First and foremost, I am a rabid David Sedaris fan.  I was first introduced to the humorous essayist just over a year ago with his 2008 book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames.  Ever since, I have read almost every one of his books within one sitting;  I just cannot put them down.  I expected no less from his most recent work, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, a collection of short stories that highlights questions of morality and societal ills as enacted by animals.  While no less comical than his previous stories, this brief book provides the present-day reader with opportunities to laugh and learn from the assorted creatures who share our trials and tribulations in raising children, alienation from friends, adultery, and racism.  


David Sedaris is many things: writer, humorist, and radio contributor for National Public Radio, often working with Ira Glass’ “This American Life.”  (Perhaps not well known is the fact that Glass discovered Sedaris in a Chicago club, reading stories from his diary.)  Known for his short stories which are, in most cases, autobiographical (yet exaggerated) and self-defacing, Sedaris has enjoyed several, national bestsellers with Naked, Holidays On Ice (featuring his acclaimed essay “SantaLand Diaries," which was first introduced on NPR), Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and When You Are Engulfed in Flames.  The stories feature accounts of his family’s inner-workings, his numerous odd jobs across the county, and his various follies into drugs that are downright hysterical.  The events are sometimes so far-fetched that part of the fun is wondering where the truth leaves off and the exaggeration begins.  Despite the repetition of some stories in multiple books, the occurrence only allows the reader to re-experience the humor that may have been forgotten.