“Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk”, by David Sedaris

Sedaris, David, and Ian Falconer. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: a Modest Bestiary. New York: Little, Brown, and, 2010. Print.

I picked this off the “Best Bets” shelf at the library, thinking that getting through the small volume in a week would be no problem. I’ve enjoyed Sedaris before, notably Me Talk Pretty One Day, and looked forward to a new installment of his humour.

I read about half of it the first evening, but had to put it down – although it is funny, it’s more wry and sad than belly-busting.  Normally his essays have me literally laughing out loud, but when I got to one essay where a woman saved her dog from a fire instead of her son, I thought I was going to cry instead.  (Yes, I know it’s fiction.  Yes, I cry easily.)

I did finish it the night before it was due back.  I may try it again some other time to see if it me or the writer that made it not funny this time, but I may just focus my time on the other deserving books out there I haven’t read once yet.