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    Fraud
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    Fraud
    Audiobook4 hours

    Fraud

    Written by David Rakoff

    Narrated by David Rakoff

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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.)


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 15, 2001
    ISBN9780553755060
    Unavailable
    Fraud

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    Reviews for Fraud

    3.5/5

    278 ratings14 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      Pretty darn cute.
    • 5/5
      Hilarious book. I can't get enough of this author! I
    • 5/5
      loved it
    • 3/5
      Generally amusing - the Tom Brown Jr camp essay was particularly interesting to me, as was the Freud-in-the-window experiment. Rakoff's essays mostly struck me as too self-serious to be really funny, but he's clearly very sharp and a good writer.
    • 3/5
      The essay on Steuben seagull leading a spirituality retreat at Omega House is to die for. If you like David Rakoff on "This American Life" you will not be disappointed by this funny collection.
    • 3/5
      I have enjoyed David Rakoff's essay on PRI's "This American Life" for years, so I was quite excited to read this book of essays. The first several essays were quite light and clever, with just a hint of darkness...classic Rakoff. As I read on, however, the essays lacked any hint of snarky and, well, just wern't funny. Now, this might have been by design. Mr. Rakoff is not David Sedaris (although on the radio they have very similar voices) and his goal is not to make us laugh. Perhaps, he intended to ease the reader in with the lightness and once we were hooked, bring on the deep. And this is not to say that they were not well written, just not exactly what I signed up for. I don't know if I will read him again...might just stick with listening to him on "TAL".
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      I found Rakoff's book thoroughly funny, especially his experience working at a ice cream parlor for a funny Greek couple. Some of the stories though, I felt as though I was waiting for the funny/interesting parts. Overall, a very funny book!
    • 4/5
      I like these more the second time. Verbose, yes, but oh, so true.
    • 4/5
      This collection of essays are the offering of a compatriot of the laudable “this American life” crew. After hearing him read on the show a few weeks ago I felt it likely worth my while to grab his book if he was anywhere near as thoughtful and entertaining as his fellows david Sedaris & Sarah vowell; lucky me, he is.Unabashedly intellectual and fiercely opinionated, this author has a facility of language somewhat rare in the ranks of the modern humorist. Not since twain and wilde has such a fierce wit been paired with such keen nuance of the written communique. Highly educated and ruthlessly self deprecating rakoff leads us into a series of fascinating excursions to places no less far flung than Tokyo, reykjavik, & new jersey,narrating with his distinctly wicked but undeniably compelling perspective. While not more than occasionally laugh out loud funny, this book felt somehow less trivial than most of the humor reading I do. Peppered with words and phrases I had to look up (she admits to her chagrin) I walked away from this one feeling edified; not just because I felt safer armed with my dictionary, but because of the amusing yet nonetheless consistently thought provoking observations of this transparently erudite author. Well worth it, recommended.
    • 5/5
      Funny, witty with deep under currents and wider range then David Sedaris
    • 4/5
      The Briefest Review: Piss yourself funny. Dislike the cover, though.
    • 4/5
      Yes, they're both funny. Yes, they're both writers. Yes, they both contribute to the greatest radio show on earth, This American Life. And though they also both happen to be called "David," there are major distinctions to be made between Sedaris and Rakoff. I love them both, but I think I have to lean toward Rakoff purely on the basis of his cynicism, world-weariness and irritation. Having not only read the book but listened to the audio cd, I can say without qualification that this is one of the funniest books I've read/heard, ever. Period.
    • 3/5
      Reading about Rakoff's experience with Seagal was funny. The rest of it genuinely felt like the critics were defrauding me.