I love Sedaris so much, I just grabbed this off the audio shelf at the library without reading about it. So, it is my own fault that I was surprised and a bit disappointed. This is not classic Sedaris musing on his life and providing direct social commentary. It is, however, social commentary, but told in short-story format through the eyes and mouths of animals. For me, it just didn't work. I found it much harder to focus on the short stories than I do a novel, and many just fell flat. Oh, don't get me wrong. The writing is strong, and the stories are full of wit and sharp (sometimes crude) humor. In that, this is classic Sedaris. But, for whatever reason, the stories, for the most part, did not resonate. I will certainly read lots more Sedaris, but I will amble back to his more classic fare. Delightful, quite clever sometimes, sometimes lol, sometimes lmfao funny, sometimes there is a miss, too, sometimes quite mean and even violent but very true, social commentary on human interactions, on more and less important issues. I highly enjoyed most of these short stories, these fables of the very human-like animals and their banters. Sedaris just has way of getting dialogue just right, of getting the little tropes, blurbs and meaningless expressions we use just right and just hilarious enough for me. We listened to the audio version on a long road trip and I am sure that improved my rating, most of the readers were rather good especially Elaine Stritch and the master himself. I am not overly keen on audiobooks but this concept worked well, the stories were never too long to be exhausting while listening and included much dialogue with is always a bonus when spoken as well as here. I am actually a bit surprised these are so badly received on goodreads, I had a great time with them, maybe they are for a specific taste, not sure what that implies about my taste but I am glad I enjoyed them as much as I did.My top 5:1) The Sick Rat and the Healthy Rat2) The Vigilant Rabbit3) The Mouse and the Snake4) The Parenting storks5) The Grieving Owl
What do You think about Bestiole E Bestiacce (2010)?
Wicked insights about human nature and slyly funny. Enjoyed it!
—jackie
Not as awesome as his others. Finished in an hour.
—sammy123
