Half Empty

Essays

By: David Rakoff

Narrated by: David Rakoff

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

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.

©2010 David Rakoff (P)2010 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A collection of humorous—albeit pessimistic—essays on humankind’s incalculable foibles......Throughout the book, the author hones in on this disconnect, debunking the myth of the power of positive thinking while arguing that 'the bleak' (not the meek) will most likely inherit the earth." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Maintaining his signature and singular charm, Rakoff analyzes the heck out of common (and not-so-common) place culture....a writerly collection to make giddy even the most erudite lover of words." ( Booklist)

“Rakoff’s strength is the turn of phrase that deftly and wittily dissects its subject at a stroke.” ( Chicago Tribune)

Too negative for me.

What disappointed you about Half Empty?

I found no humor and a lot of sarcasm.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I don't know, I couldn't listen to all the whining.

Totally Empty

David Rakoff talks about everyday things with in a "isn't that always the way?" or "people do the darnest things," or "aren't things just so fake?" manner. Of course, his reflections are meant to be ironic, satiric, and funny, but they come off as curlish and so too too. I was unable to finish the book because after a few chapters, I was running on empty.

Self-indulgent ramblings

Mr Rackoff is the most intelligent man in the world. He uses long words and turns many clever phrases. He is also a very unfortunate man whose life is undeservedly harsh and he is keenly aware of its bleakness.

if this engages you, the book is definitely for you.

I listened to the first few chapters, then began skipping and taking a brief listen to every episode, then deleted the whole sad mis-shapen opus from my ipod. I thought I heard it say thank you.

Completely Empty

This book is far from the psychological rebuttal to the hyper-optomistic personality types that it claims to be. The author takes the reader on a meandering disconnected journey from somewhat universal topics of human nature to mundane personal incidents with absolutely no underlying theme. Sure, the narrative is sometimes witty and clever. But most of the time the story (if there is one) is so buried in such contrived descriptions it becomes totally lost. I stopped listening as he was going on and on about some trade show for adult sex toys.

What was it that I just heard?

I didn't get the point of the book, I really didn't. Was it a life story? Observations which lead us to a conclusion? A comedy (albeit ironic) sketch?


I thought it was none. It really is a conversation, ramblings really, as personal as diary entries. Every chapter should be titled something like "here's something else people do that annoy me personally. Except that entries are by a person I don't care about and wouldn't know if he hadn't appear on Jon Stewart. If you already are fan of Mr. Rakoff and you are looking for his insight into mundane, then this book might have been written for you.

I gave it two stars for his warm voice and artful writing. The writings read like poetry but there was nothing of substance to it.