Featuring David Sedaris's unique blend of hilarity and heart,this new illustrated collection of animal-themed tales is an utterdelight. Though the characters may not be human, the situations inthese stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity ofeveryday life. In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck," three strangerscommiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaintline. In "Hello Kitty," a cynical feline struggles to sit throughhis prison-mandated AA meetings. In "The Squirrel and theChipmunk," a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudicedfamily members. With original illustrations by Ian Falconer, author of thebestselling Olivia series of children's books, thesestories are David Sedaris at his most observant, poignant, andsurprising.

Building on the crucial insight that jokes use many of thesame mechanisms he had already discovered in dreams, Freuddeveloped one of the richest and most comprehensive theories ofhumor that has ever been produced. Jokes, he argues, provideimmense pleasure by allowing us to express many of our deepestsexual, aggressive and cynical thoughts and feelings which wouldotherwise remain repressed. In elaborating this central thesis, hebrings together a dazzling set of puns, anecdotes, snappyone-liners, spoonerisms and beloved stories of Jewish beggars andmarriage-brokers. Many remain highly amusing, while others throw avivid light on the lost world of early twentieth-centuryVienna.