false 9007 5 Let's get this out of the way: David Rakoff is not David Sedaris. When you hear him being incredibly smart and funny on <I>This American Life</I>, you invariably think, "Oh, it's David Sedaris." But if you listen closely, you can tell the difference. Rakoff, while no less witty or nasal, is a little more <I>disappointed</I>. In his first collection--a series of pieces for public radio and for various magazines--he positively revels in his world-weariness. Whether he's investigating the Loch Ness monster, attending a comedy festival in Aspen, Colorado, visiting a New Age retreat hosted by Steven Seagal, or just, you know, playing Freud in a department-store window at Christmastime, Rakoff tends to get comically depleted. Watching the comic Dan Castellaneta, for example, he writes, "It's a bad sign when I start counting the unused props on stage. Only two wigs, one stool, an easel, and a dropcloth to go. I begin to pray to an unfeeling God to please make Castellaneta multitask." In a piece where he attempts to climb a mountain (well... a very short hill), Rakoff immediately nips any Sierra Club fantasies in the bud: "I do not go outdoors. Not more than I have to. As far as I'm concerned, the whole point of living in New York City is indoors. You want greenery? Order the spinach." But in the end, what makes him such a terrific writer is that he's not only onto everyone else, he's onto himself. No wonder his visit to a kibbutz becomes the occasion for some supremely self-conscious amusement: "I know I sound like the Central Casting New Yorker I've turned myself into with single-minded determination when I say this, but the main problem with working in the fields is that the sun is just always shining." <I>--Claire Dederer</I> 975026 2001 Fraud: Essays total:1226|5:4|4:9|3:9|2:3|1:2| 1226 4524 1593 139 4 2 false false Thu Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 09:58:37 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 11:27:10 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Wed Oct 31 10:06:37 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 31 17:31:28 -0700 2007 ...more...]]> 2 2 false false Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Aug 07 17:22:28 -0700 2007 Sun Mar 02 14:41:08 -0800 2008 This American Llife, so I was really surprised as to how unlikeable this book was. At this point, the author had as of yet to cement his persona as a loveable curmudgeon, and instead comes off as cranky and self...more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Dec 17 14:32:34 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 17 14:37:47 -0800 2007
Some kind hearted thief needs to steal the man's thesaurus. I'm all for the three dollar words, but this man's vocabulary earns the adjective "audacious." To hear him read his work, when he trips over...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 23:24:57 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 23:38:04 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 12:53:36 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 12:55:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat May 10 18:33:18 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 20:58:38 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 19:26:38 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 13 23:05:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 04 11:34:58 -0800 2007 Fri Apr 24 14:15:40 -0700 2009 2
I don't find Rakoff to be as overly erudite as others plainly due--especially in comparison to his friend Patty Marx and her book (Him Her H...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 12:03:02 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 13:36:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Mar 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 21:57:03 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 08:53:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Feb 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 21:28:52 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 21:33:06 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 09 07:50:29 -0800 2007 Mon Oct 12 21:43:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 11:52:44 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 11:59:18 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 12:39:05 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 12:42:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 18 20:01:23 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 20:08:30 -0700 2009 3 0 true false Thu Aug 21 16:34:17 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 10:21:14 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 16:34:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 25 06:39:36 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 17 07:02:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Dec 19 06:59:55 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 07:01:25 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Mon Nov 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 18:11:14 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 21:51:00 -0800 2008