Fraud

By: David Rakoff

Narrated by: David Rakoff

Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

You've heard him on This American Life! Now read his book!

Wherever he is, David Rakoff is a fish out of water. Whether impersonating Sigmund Freud in a department store window during the holidays, climbing an icy mountain in cheap loafers, playing an evil modeling agent on a daytime soap opera, or learning primitive survival skills in the wilds of New Jersey, Rakoff doesn't belong. Nor does he try to. Still, he continually finds himself off in the far-flung hinterlands of our culture, notebook or microphone in hand, hoping to conjure that dyed-in-the-wool New York condescension.

And Rakoff tries to be nasty; heaven knows nothing succeeds like the cheap sneer, but he can't quite help noticing that these are actual human beings he's writing about. In his attempts not to pull any punches, the most damaging blows, more often than not, land squarely on his own jaw - hilariously satirizing the writer, not the subject.

And therein lies David Rakoff's genius and his burgeoning appeal. The wry and the heartfelt join in his prose to resurrect that most neglected of literary virtues: wit.

Read the blurbs again on the back. They signal the arrival of a brilliant new American essayist. (Okay, Canadian.)

©2001 David Rakoff (P)2001 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Rakoff possesses a sociologist's eye for places where today’s consoling myths reside." (New York Times)

"David Rakoff’s Fraud showcases his rapier wit, slashing in all directions with slice-of-life insights and cutting remarks, sometimes nicking himself with self-deprecation in his dexterous duello with the American experience." (Publishers Weekly [starred review])

"Rakoff likes to paint himself as urbane to a fault, an outsider anywhere unpaved. But then, in the woods or on a mountaintop, he reveals himself, despite his searing and hilarious observations, to be a completely unrelenting romantic." (Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius)

A brave and gentle man.

Listening to someone courageous enough to tell the truth,and so very kind was a pleasure. Four more words yes

A great listen

I love David Rakoff. So sad he’s gone. Great perspectives and lots of laughs. I miss him❤️

No as funny as Sedaris

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I did not finish the book. I have listened to the first hour or so and then got really bored with it. I listened while driving and my mind would just drift away. The stories were not engaging or funny. It's witty at times, but too self-absorbed and self-centred. If you like Woody Allen's comedy, you may like this. It was not for me.

wonderful book, it was such a shame to lose him

wonderful book, it was such a shame to lose him. well with your time and money.

This book may be a fraud, I was looking for funny

If you could sum up Fraud in three words, what would they be?
Gay NYC Jewish Humor

What did you like best about this story?
I'm 75, female,straight, from a tiny. 2000 population, Southern town, The first adult book I ever read when in the third grade, (my poor little elementary school didn't have a library) was my mother's book club edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I learned that a book can carry you to another world, country, city--into another's mind. I loved it.

So here is a story by a Gay Jewish Man who hates dogs, knows nothing about the outdoors I have loved, doesn't enjoy Christmas or quaint B&Bs in New England, yet, the third time I heard it, we connected. I grew to like the book and him, although I'm sure that had we met in an elevator last December in Rockefeller Center, he would have ignored me as I managed a sideways peek at him. It would have been a longer peek had I known he was an author--but then this book--while a BOOK is still sort of a fraud, as he well knows.

Still he chose to climb a mountain in December for a magazine article. Was horribly out of comfort and place, But he did it, and shared the experience.


What does David Rakoff bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Immediacy.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No

Any additional comments?
This book was out of my comfort zone. I began feeling sorry for this sad man, and ended understanding that people are different, They have different life experiences. Different approaches to life. I found that he and I share many values, dreams, and goals. Hear the book.

Whinny gay Jew surprisingly funny.

Overprivileged whinny gay Jew Ivy League graduate and son-of-psychologist David Rakoff relates tales of life in the big city. He overcomes being Jewish and gay, and goes on to beat cancer and donate sperm. He goes to a lot of weekend retreats too. His story about Steven Segal leading a seminar at a New Age seminar is pretty funny.

Honest

What I love about this book is David's Honesty. He weaves funny tales in with painful ones. As an avid listener of TAL i enjoyed him as much throughout this book as i did, listening to his stories on the show. It was a short and great listen.

Such joy.

I really miss Rakoff.
Always fun to listen.
What can I say, he was completely different from me, yet I feel like I know him.

Miss him

This book makes me miss him even more. He had a way with words that was simply elegant.

All the joys of eves-dropping without the guilt

Listening to David Rakoff is just so much fun! His command of the language, hilarious perspective and extensive vocabulary make this an enjoyable audio book.