Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory

By: Raphael Bob-Waksberg

Narrated by: Raphael Bob-Waksberg, full cast

Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the creator of the beloved and universally acclaimed television series BoJack Horseman, a fabulously off-beat collection of short stories about love - the best and worst thing in the universe

Written with all the scathing dark humor that is a hallmark of BoJack Horseman, Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s stories will make you laugh, weep, and shiver in uncomfortably delicious recognition. In “A Most Blessed and Auspicious Occasion”, a young couple engaged to be married is forced to deal with interfering relatives dictating the appropriate number of ritual goat sacrifices for their wedding. “Missed Connection - m4w” is the tragicomic tale of a pair of lonely commuters eternally failing to make that longed-for contact. And in “More of the You That You Already Are”, a struggling employee at a theme park of dead presidents finds that love can’t be genetically modified. 

Equally at home with the surreal and the painfully relatable (and both at once), Bob-Waksberg delivers a killer combination of humor, romance, whimsy, cultural commentary, and crushing emotional vulnerability. 

Audiobook Table of Contents: 

• "Salted Circus Cashews, Swear to God" read by Raphael Bob-Waksberg 
• "short stories" read by Baron Vaughn, James Urbaniak, Kimiko Glenn, Colman Domingo, and Natalie Morales 
• "Most Blessed and Auspicious Occasion" read by Raúl Esparza
• "Missed Connection - m4w" read by Colman Domingo 
• "The Serial Monogamist’s Guide to Important New York City Landmarks" read by Natalie Morales 
• "We Men of Science" read by James Urbaniak 
• "Lies We Told Each Other (a partial list)" read by Kimiko Glenn and Raúl Esparza 
• "These Are Facts" read by Will Brill 
• "Lunch with the Person Who Dumped You" read by Stephanie Beatriz 
• "Rufus." read by Baron Vaughn 
• "Rules for Taboo" read by Will Brill and Emma Galvin
• "Up-and-Comers" read by Stephanie Beatriz 
• "Move across the country." read by Colman Domingo 
• "You Want to Know What Plays Are Like?" read by Emma Galvin 
• "the poem" read by Nicholas Gonzalez 
• "The Average of All Possible Things" read by Kimiko Glenn 
• "More of the You That You Already Are" read by Nicholas Gonzalez 
• "We will be close on Friday 18 July" read by Raphael Bob-Waksberg 

©2019 Raphael Bob-Waksberg (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“This book is EXTREMELY MY SH*T. It’s a deeply weird and hilarious work of genius. I really f**king love it.” (Samantha Irby, author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life)

“Raphael is the funniest male vegan who created an animated show about a talking horse working today. Run, don’t walk, to your local socialist knitting circle and tell them about this hilarious book.” (Rachel Bloom, creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) 

"This is exactly the kind of book you’d hope the creator of BoJack Horseman would write. Just as his animated show is a bleary-eyed tour de force composed of equal parts depression and fun, Bob-Waksberg’s debut story collection is wonderfully weird, pushing familiar stories to their absurdist limits (e.g., the couple who wants to keep their wedding simple with absolutely no goat-sacrificing). Yet each one has a chewy emotional center and a gut punch worth waiting for." (Maris Kreizman, Vulture, “12 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer”) 

Absolutely amazing!

This book is an amazingly deep and beautiful collection of stories. I loved every minute of it! The performances are nuanced and moving, and the writing is so painfully relatable that it felt like it was plucked from my very own experiences. I can't recommend it enough!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

One of the best on audible

This is probably one of the best audio books of had the privilege of listening to. The performance was varied with multiple actors, and felt like it was directed in detail the whole way through. You can tell that this is someone who has experience in TV and working with voice casts.

The book itself is very charming. In many anthologys, it can be hard to retain an interest. One story that you were invested in ends, and then you have to work to reinvest in another. Any falters in my interest were very short though.

The storys themselves made me tear up a few times. Waksberg has this great way of presenting information atypically, but in the way that best serves his message. He'll couch hard truths of relationships in a series of lies, and understate the most important moments. The lack of direct input at these crucial moments gives you quiet to take the text in a way that means the most to you. Honestly, this is a fantastic book and a standout in the format.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Breaks your heart in the best way just like bojack

I am a lover of short stories, and a lover of the show Bojack Horseman. If you are either or both of these things, you will really love this book. If you are not a lover of either or both of these things, I don’t have much of an opinion about what you might feel reading this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing

This book is real. Not all the stories are real and factual but the feelings they bring are real and true. And that’s hard to find sometimes. But I’m glad I can find it in this book.

Best Nonfiction I've read this year

Can't believe how well it was read and performed. Simply awesome. If you love BoJack, these stories will move you just as much. Don't miss out the chance to listen to this. Something really special.

Overall above average

If you like Bob-Wakberg's work you'll like this book. At times slow but at many other very funny. I'd listen to this book while either driving or doing house chores and found myself laughing out loud to myself. The book will take you through a range of emotions that make a great listen. On a smaller note I do wish some of the stories had more written about them because the world portray leaves me wanting more but what was written is satisfying none the less.

Hilarious!

My new favorite book. So funny and entertaining! I really hope the author writes another book of short stories, because I did not want this to end!

Strange and lovely

I so thoroughly enjoyed this strange and lovely collection of stories. The performances were amazing. Definitely something I will want to revisit.

Playful

The stories were playful, unusual, cleverly written & recorded. One story was a twist on the theme and completely unexpected. Well done!

Smart, Funny, and Incredibly Sad All At Once

I have to say, this is the first book I’ve listened through fully. It was incredible. The stories themselves range from “This is good” to “I have to stop everything I’m doing right now and have a few minutes of silence to fully process all of these complex emotions that have been bestowed to me.” I was certainly expecting something like this from one of the writers of Bojack Horseman, and if you loved the show, you’ll most likely love the book (and vice versa!). Overall, the best compilation of stories I’ve read in a good long while.