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Half Empty
- Essays
- Narrated by: David Rakoff
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
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Publisher's Summary
The inimitably witty David Rakoff, New York Times best-selling author of Don’t Get Too Comfortable, 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) audiobook, Rakoff examines the realities of our sunny, gosh 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.
The audiobook ranges from the personal to the universal, combining stories from Rakoff’s reporting and accounts of his own experiences: The moment when being a tiny child no longer meant adults found him charming but instead meant other children found him a fun target; the perfect late evening in Manhattan when he was young and the city seemed to brim with such possibility that the street shimmered in the moonlight - as he drew closer he realized the streets actually flickered with rats in a feeding frenzy. He also weaves in his usual brand Oscar Wilde - worthy cultural criticism (the tragedy of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, for instance).
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.
What the critics say
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What listeners say about Half Empty
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- Heather Elizabeth Rose
- 2021-03-25
Great Read
A lovely self reflection and read beautifully by the author. A great extension of his essays from TAL if you heard that. When I read it I felt the kinship of spirit I felt when I first discovered David Rakoff. Very easy to listen to when winding down before bed.
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