Cover Image

Half empty

The inimitably witty David Rakoff defends the commonsensical notion that you should always assume the worst, because you'll never be disappointed. In this deeply funny (and, no kidding, wise and poignant) book, Rakoff examines the realities of our sunny, everyone-can-be-a-star contemporary cult...

Full description

Main Author: Rakoff, David.
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York : Doubleday, c2010.
Edition: 1st ed.
Subjects:
American wit and humor.
Pessimism > Humor.
Summary: The inimitably witty David Rakoff defends the commonsensical notion that you should always assume the worst, because you'll never be disappointed. In this deeply funny (and, no kidding, wise and poignant) book, Rakoff examines the realities of our sunny, everyone-can-be-a-star contemporary culture and finds that, pretty much as a universal rule, the best is not yet to come, adversity will triumph, justice will not be served, and your dreams won't come true. Whether he's lacerating the musical Rent for its cutesy depiction of AIDS or dealing with personal tragedy, his sharp observations and humorist's flair for the absurd will have you positively reveling in the power of negativity.--From publisher description.
Physical Description: 224 p. ; 22 cm.
ISBN: 9780385525244
0385525249
Author Notes: David Rakoff was born in Montreal, Canada on November 27, 1964. He received a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies from Columbia University in 1986. He briefly worked in Japan as a translator before being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He moved back to Canada for more than a year of treatment and remained free of cancer for two decades.

Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as an editor and publicist for various publishers. His essays appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, GQ, Details, Salon, and Slate. He also wrote three essay collections. Fraud and Don't Get Too Comfortable received Lambda Literary Awards and Half Empty received the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He appeared frequently on This American Life. He also acted in several stage plays written by David Sedaris. He wrote the screen adaptation for, and starred in, a 20-minute film, The New Tenants, which won the Academy Award for best live-action short film in 2009. He died from cancer on August 9, 2012 at the age of 47.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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