num_pages: 240
description: The inimitably witty David Rakoff New York Times bestselling author of Dont Get Too Comfortable  defends the commonsensical notion that you should always assume the worst because youll never be disappointed.In this deeply funny (and no kidding wise and poignant) book 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 wont come true.The book ranges from the personal to the universal combining stories from Rakoffs reporting and accounts of his own experi 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 moonlightas he drew closer he realized the streets actually flickered with rats in a feeding frenzy. He also weaves in his usual brand Oscar Wildeworthy cultural criticism (the tragedy of Hollywoods Walk of Fame for instance).Whether hes lacerating the musical Rent for its cutesy depiction of AIDS or dealing with personal tragedy his sharp observations and humorists flair for the absurd will have you positively reveling in the power of negativity.
language: English
title: Half Empty
publisher: Doubleday