Half Empty Paperback by David Rakoff
The book at Amazon and on Kindle
Rakoff died of cancer in August 2012 at the age of 47, and the final book published during his lifetime (his last novel will be published posthumously next summer) Half Empty, is a staggering testament to his mastery. Peppered with irreverent Yiddish humor, Jewish jokes, and self-deprecation so advanced Woody Allen would be proud (Rakoff comments in one essay that he is “the Jewish homosexual writer: the ultimate degenerate“), Half Empty feels like a distinctly Jewish read. It’s a fitting way to remember Rakoff – his so-sharp-it’s-painful clever turns of phrase, his simultaneously sardonic and genuine storytelling, and his bluntly hilarious reflections on his identities.
