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Jul 31, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

It's unfortunate that my first impulse, one common to many readers, is to compare David Rakoff to David Sedaris. Because compared to Sedaris's winning alchemy of wit and absurdity, Rakoff's stories at first seem a little wan. To the hearty comedy that is "Me Talk Pretty One Day," "Fraud" might be a bitter, hemophiliac sibling. But I think I might prefer Rakoff for exactly this reason. Rakoff is less interested in mining a situation for its inherent inanity than he is in inves More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2007

patsy rated it:

I was lucky enough to meet David Rakoff when I hosted him for a bookstore reading. Along with David Sedaris & Sarah Vowell, he was on an NPR speaking tour. He is definitely as entertaining as the aforementioned authors; seeing the 3 of them in a group reading was a highlight of my literary life.
His essays could best be characterized as lefty whining, but with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Hard to pick just one favorite in this collection, but the Steven Segal/Buddhist workshop piece i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 02, 2008

Melissa rated it:

I really wanted to like this book. Honestly, I really did. I love Rakoff's work on NPR's 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 righteous. He also seems to be pre-occupied with the task of impressing the audience with his vast vocabulary, instead of drawing the reader into his work. Long story short, the subtext of this book More...

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Dec 17, 2007

Justin rated it:

One thing needs to happen before I can say I like David Rakof without wincing:

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 one of these little jewels, his voice slows to purr over it like a deer on a salt lick, and the effect is sickening. It's a shame, considering he is really funny and a true wit, when not mining his o More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 18, 2011

Andrew rated it:

I pity David Rakoff. It must be tough to go through life as a witty and urbane gay writer of amusingly embellished autobiographical essays frequently featured on This American Life named David, unless you are the other one. I'm not even going to say the other one's name, because I'm sure 90% of the reviews on here already mention it, and I want to stand out from the crowd.

(Hint: it ryhmes with "Ted, wear this.")

Yes, it's very well written and quite funny, but i More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 09, 2011

Marcelo rated it:

Enjoyed it, didn't rock my world though - I think "Don't get too comfortable" which had more thematic cohesion is an overall better book. Having said that, I do like Rakoff's take on the world around him, especially on his travel pieces: he is able to take what is alien or strange and point out how this actually just comes from a perception or view of the world, not from the thing itself. And by engaging the world outside and not just doing a personal memoir (and, let's say it, bypassi More...

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Mar 23, 2010

Bailey rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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May 27, 2009

Matt rated it:

Funny and insightful, just as the jacket promises, although it does veer dangerously close to David Sedaris in tone, style, and content at times (having Mr. Sedaris' pull-quote on the front cover only underlines this fact). Still, when they don't read like Sedaris placeholders, these well-crafted essays are strong enough to stand on their own merits. My personal favorites include "Hidden People," about Icelanders' beliefs in elves and other magical beings, "Extraordinary Alien," More...

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Jul 19, 2009

Raina rated it:

It was "okay". Not fantastic, not terrible. Highlights of the book were the essays "Christmas Freud", "lather rinse repeat", and "Hidden People". But even these lacked a climax. They almost read like an essay you had to read for school. Good information, not so much recreation.

Poor Rakoff. David Sedaris truly has the market on hilarious real-life stories (aka non-fiction) in the voice of an east coast gay man. Compared to Sedaris (and really More...

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May 30, 2008

Doug rated it:

The unrelenting sourness can be hard to withstand at times, but how can you say no to a man who spent his time at the Aspen Comedy Festival "wheezing like a mid-coitus Nelson Rockefeller"?

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Apr 13, 2009

Alex rated it:

Meh. Got it hoping it would be Sedaris-y, and while the guy is obviously very smart and a good writer, this is what got me from really liking the thing: Okay, so his shtick is that he's a gay angsty New Yorker who's terribly lonely and sad and a perennial outsider, possibly because he's too much of a clever smartass to bear. HOWEVER! When you finally finish the collection you find that he has like, 200 people who he thanks in his acknowledgment section, which COMPLETELY negates the persona h More...

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Aug 10, 2011

Joseph added it

As a good, loyal, NPR-listening liberal, I know that I'm supposed to love David Rakoff. This American Life told me that I have to. Thing is: David Rakoff is a privileged, smug, asshole. Here's the formula for most of Rakoff's essays: 1) I went to (or worked at) something. 2) Here's why it sucks. Why I'm supposed to care about all the reasons why this clown hates various things is beyond me. Not that Rakoff cares what I think. I don't have an Ivy League education, nor do I live in Manhattan More...

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Apr 24, 2009

Paula rated it:

How did I forget I actually read all of this book? As soon as I started pretty much every essay, I knew what I was in for--and that I would like it.

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 Him [Again:] The End) I read (somehow) last year. In fact, recognizing most of his references made me feel smart! I also enjoy his almost-restrained humor that percolates itself lightly into each piece More...

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Mar 04, 2009

Haley rated it:

Rakoff's essays were well-crafted, but that was a huge problem; they were so well-crafted, they didn't look effortless. I couldn't see Rakoff in any of these situations; instead, I saw him in front of his computer writing these stories. He tried to throw in so many GRE words (I imagined him hitting the "thesaurus" button on Microsoft Word a lot) and went off on so many unrelated tangents that the flow of the book was ruined. There were some good one-liners in here (which made me bump t More...

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Nov 20, 2010

Peter rated it:

I would give this 2.5, but I'm rounding up. Nonfiction personal literary essays are my favorite, and Rakoff is a fine writer, but some of these pieces were dull, overly detailed, and boorish for my tastes. When he works so hard to make something out of nothing, it can still feel like nothing. That said, a few essays were well worth my time and attention and he can shed introspection like few others. I'm glad I read it, but would have cut it in half.

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Feb 01, 2010

Betsy rated it:

This was pretty funny. I heard David Rakoff speak when I went to see Sarah Vowell a couple of years ago. He's unapologetically pretentious (not the right word...pretentious without the juvenile-ness - is that sophisticated?) as well as extremely articulate and witty. The book was very amusing - although parts of it were quite sad. If you're into listening to This American Life on your i-pod at the gym (sigh) download and listen to the episode called "Who's Canadian?" and you'll see wha

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Aug 31, 2010

Claire rated it:

Hear ye, hear ye! Rakoff has usurped the funny/snarky/self-deprecating essay throne of my heart. Sedaris is out, Rakoff is the new king.

But it's not all fun and games with Rakoff; his humor's really dark...and delicious! I rarely find these kinds of personal essays very thought-provoking, but Rakoff's have the substance to back up the style. I also appreciate a unified theme, and all the stories ARE quite tied to frauds.

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Feb 19, 2009

Sarah rated it:

I could hear David Rakoff's voice in my head as I read the prose and that made the stories even more fun. The fact that he is an ex-Canadian who is "passing" in the U.S. helped with my homesickness, although his pre-911 green-card story made me incredibly jealous (2 weeks? Are you serious?). I wish there were more to read, or, even better, that David Rakoff was in my circle of friends.

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Oct 12, 2009

Kirsten rated it:

Alone in my car with this audiobook, frequently laughing out loud, I kept trying to decide which diamond of wisdom (Rakoff's writing is too sharp to be a pearl) I'd choose to serve as exemplar for his wry, quick-witted, enviously erudite prose. Is it his characterization of Japanese as "the un-bicycle of languages - you never remember," or his description of real-from-Scotland-scotch as "like drinking the board of directors of Standard Oil"? In short, I can't decide, but I More...

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Jan 06, 2012

Christina Marie rated it:

Read an essay, any essay in Fraud.I dare you not to laugh. It is simply Hil. Air. Eee. Us. But also, smart and very very real. After reading Fraud, I find that I have a lot in common with a 35 year old gay Canadian man, more than I ever thought I would have. My psuedo-connection with Rakoff can probably best be summed up with my favorite line from his book: I don't like chickens...I like men.

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Jul 02, 2011

Shawn rated it:

This was kind of like time travel - a book of essays published in 2001, written in the 90s - so the style and some of the topics (soap operas, anyone?) felt very 1998. Definitely David Sedaris light too. Something snarky and occasionally funny to read on a plane trip. The very 90s Steven Seagal essay was the best, still a slice of time, but still very true.

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Feb 12, 2011

David rated it:

The other gay modern day, literary humorist named David. Rakoff must hate that. There must be days when he just thinks "Fuck it, call me Lourdes from now on" just so he can avoid the inevitable comparisons. So to hurry that along - Fraud is the Discovery show pitched as "Let's send David Sedaris out on location and hear his unique take on the great wide world."

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Feb 10, 2011

Mel rated it:

I used to work with a fellow who spoke the way David Rakoff writes. He used ten words where two would suffice and almost everyone in the office found him insufferable. There are moments of brilliance in this book but there are also moments of mind-numbing tedium. I recommend reading one essay, putting the book aside for a few days and then reading another.

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Oct 27, 2010

Rachel rated it:

I read this book hoping it would be like a David Sedaris book. Silly me. No one is like David Sedaris! I still really liked the book and will probably read another one by Rakoff. I feel a little smarter after reading this book. I look up words I'm not sure of when I read and I lost count of how many I had to look up in Fraud! It was like he was writing with a thesaurus in hand.

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Dec 16, 2009

Sara rated it:

I go this at the DA library yesterday since I've been feeling a little emotional lately (read: totally started sobbing when I saw a dead cat while driving o work) (yeah, cray-zee time this week) Anyway, I totally like this book, so I figured listening to some of the stories would cheer my heart or whatever. The thing is, I'm still working my way through that crazy ass book on tape by Chuck Palunick (or however you spell it) about those people who are eating their own feet and doing everything e More...

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Nov 24, 2011

Kevin rated it:

Some of these stories were hilarious. After reading Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, Oscar Wilde, and now David Rakoff, I am beginning to wonder if writing funny short stories is a product of nature, i.e., encoded in the gay gene, or nurture, i.e., adapting a comedic sense to deal with anxiety and discrimination.

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Aug 11, 2011

Ketan added it

David Rakoff writes in a similar style to David Sedaris.He's urbane,witty self deprecating and always amusing,but not as laugh out loud funny as Sedaris.The chapter on Steven Seagal and on Iceland's mythical 'hidden people' are standouts.If you enjoyed this ,pick up David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day"

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Feb 11, 2009

Marissa rated it:

He's kind of a blow-hard and he doesn't know how to pronounce "herbal" (maybe that's a Canadian quirk?). But if all the liberals on your town's talk stations have been replaced with financial news and right-wing bullies, then it may be a good idea to listen to Rakoff's audio version of these essays.

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Aug 18, 2009

Wendy rated it:

As a die-hard Sedaris and Vowell fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Rakoff's essays. He definitely takes the darker road, and I'm fine with that and his use of the five-dollar words. (Has it become a crime to have a large vocabulary? To hope that one's dear reader has one, too?)

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Feb 21, 2010

E. Ilana rated it:

This book made me LOL. Or was it "Dont Get Too Comfortable"? Either way D. Rakoff is amazing.It's a rare occasion that I pick up a book and get more out of it (laughter nonetheless) than I expected. I read both the same day at a bookstore, a long afternoon.

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