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agirlnamedv's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Even just reading the transcript of his performance on This American Life's The Invisible Made Visible show brings tears to my eyes.
halschrieve's review against another edition
4.0
Ohhhh I love David and I miss him and I wish he were alive . Some of this stuff is dramatic for me because I read this book in the midst of a deep depression and he pulled me out of it a little-- but I do want to articulate that his short fiction is moving and his essays about his neuroses and illnesses just make me love him as a person. I don't know if I would really love him if I met him but this compilation pays fantastic tribute to a smart, funny man.
colin_cox's review against another edition
2.0
Regrettably, I don't have much to say about this book. I could, in theory, write about David Rakoff for days, but this collection feels like a departure from Rakoff's previous books (i.e. collections of essays). Perhaps this is because I know The Uncollected David Rakoff was published after his death in 2012. In addition, there is no clear indication that Rakoff was involved in the editing and organization of this book. I certainly don't claim to understand how books like this are edited and published, but The Uncollected David Rakoff feels rushed, contrived, and a little unnecessary. I appreciate the impulse to give an adoring readership more Rakoff (I count myself among the adoring), but if this is the result, I'm fine, thank you. I don't mean to sound so snarky; I'm not disappointed to have read this book, but if you want a place to begin with Rakoff, this is not it. And to the editor's credit, that may, in fact, be the point.
daynpitseleh's review against another edition
3.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3 1/2 stars
I've wanted to read David Rakoff for a long time (I feel like my first exposure to him was on the Daily Show but I can't be sure), so I was glad for the opportunity to read this collection of his works. However, this was probably not the best collection for me to start with. Rakoff's talent, humor, and magnetism shine through in all his works, and I will definitely be reading his other collections. However, I didn't really care for some of the travel writing, and I probably should have read some of his other works first.
3 1/2 stars
I've wanted to read David Rakoff for a long time (I feel like my first exposure to him was on the Daily Show but I can't be sure), so I was glad for the opportunity to read this collection of his works. However, this was probably not the best collection for me to start with. Rakoff's talent, humor, and magnetism shine through in all his works, and I will definitely be reading his other collections. However, I didn't really care for some of the travel writing, and I probably should have read some of his other works first.
pepper1133's review against another edition
5.0
It was a true gift to discover the work of David Rakoff, and a true tragedy that he's no longer able to add to that amazing body of work.
barrettcmyk's review against another edition
2.0
It's not that this wasn't a good book per se, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Without knowing anything about Rakoff (other than his Gregor Samsa and Dr Seuss epistolary that I heard on NPR -- which is in this volume and worth picking up this book all by itself), I think I expected a lot more absurdist humor.
Instead, this collection is more of a memoir, told through the various articles and poems Rakoff wrote for all sorts of publications in his lifetime. My favorites were the most mundane-- a week long entry of everything Rakoff ate, notes written on a plane after a visit to his childhood home.
What mostly lost me -- again, no fault of the author -- were the stories about NYC. I suppose I'm just cynic enough to not be among the starry-eyed admirers of the city, so anything I see yet another movie or book or article or whatever set in the city, mentally roll my eyes. Likely a holdover from being raised in a small town...?
Instead, this collection is more of a memoir, told through the various articles and poems Rakoff wrote for all sorts of publications in his lifetime. My favorites were the most mundane-- a week long entry of everything Rakoff ate, notes written on a plane after a visit to his childhood home.
What mostly lost me -- again, no fault of the author -- were the stories about NYC. I suppose I'm just cynic enough to not be among the starry-eyed admirers of the city, so anything I see yet another movie or book or article or whatever set in the city, mentally roll my eyes. Likely a holdover from being raised in a small town...?
fiddler's review against another edition
4.0
It was a joy to revisit Rakoff's writing. I have him filed mentally adjacent to Sedaris, who I also read recently, but was quickly reminded that their writing is really very different and that I find Rakoff much more poignant and devastating.
scotchneat's review
4.0
If you have read Rakoff's other stuff, you'll like this. A wide range of essays and reports on his adventures. I love that he got sent on excursions that absolutely terrified him. That being anything outside and not his apartment in NYC.
There are also a few interviews and straight up writing. This is where he talks about his second bout of cancer (one which he ultimately lost).
I was reminded once again, also, of his close friendship with David and Amy Sedaris, and imagined just how fun they must have been together at dinner parties.
There are also a few interviews and straight up writing. This is where he talks about his second bout of cancer (one which he ultimately lost).
I was reminded once again, also, of his close friendship with David and Amy Sedaris, and imagined just how fun they must have been together at dinner parties.
e_z's review
4.0
You've heard his voice on Ira Glass's show
And though he's passed - though that you may not know -
His speech shines through in this, his novel with
Such rhymes, not cloying here, but rather pith.
His plain vocabulary does not steal
The show from characters for whom you feel.
The Helen chapter was the one that played
On NPR, and that one was my fave.
Of Ragtime it reminds in its scope
Of people's lives and tracing how they cope,
But here and longer timespan is portrayed
Though each strand takes the last to join the braid.
A warning for those reading on the train,
Some passengers may view you with distain
For carrying a tome with words so few
But illustrations rich to help imbue
His story with another angle, so
I recommend you try to take it slow.
And though he's passed - though that you may not know -
His speech shines through in this, his novel with
Such rhymes, not cloying here, but rather pith.
His plain vocabulary does not steal
The show from characters for whom you feel.
The Helen chapter was the one that played
On NPR, and that one was my fave.
Of Ragtime it reminds in its scope
Of people's lives and tracing how they cope,
But here and longer timespan is portrayed
Though each strand takes the last to join the braid.
A warning for those reading on the train,
Some passengers may view you with distain
For carrying a tome with words so few
But illustrations rich to help imbue
His story with another angle, so
I recommend you try to take it slow.