If you've ever behaved badly in the presence of David Sedaris, he may have already turned you into an animal.
Sedaris, who has 7 million books in print and regularly sells out appearances in the Twin Cities, is back with a new title, "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" (Little, Brown, $21.99). A departure from his usual humorous essays, it's a collection of short stories loosely modeled after animal fables, some based on people who have annoyed him.
On the road for a 35-stop tour that lands in Minneapolis Thursday, he revealed more about the book and its characters, which include a pair of ugly-American warblers, a self-pitying bear, stork sisters engaged in competitive parenting, a rabbit overly concerned with rules and a cat in AA.
Q Some people are calling the stories fables for adults. Why don't you?
A Fables have morals. Not all of these do; I didn't want to force it. I call it a bestiary, animals doing things that people do. Others have described the book as "Aesop without morals" or "bedtime stories for children who drink."
Q In two of the tales, someone gets his eyes poked out by a bird. Is this a particular phobia of yours?
A Not really, but my neighbor in France said that you want to have lambs born in the lambing shed, because if they're born in the field, the crows will poke their eyes out. Once I found a little dead rabbit, threw it into a field and a magpie came and plucked out its eyes. I always thought it would be great to have a crow on your shoulder as a pet, but when I think about it, it could pluck your eye out.
Q Do you have pets?