Don’t Get Too Comfortable is
a collection of essays and magazine articles by David Rakoff with a wry acerbic
view of modern culture.  My favorite in
the book is the most autobiographical, "Love It or Leave It," where
he writes about becoming a citizen of the United States after many years living
as an ex-patriot Canadian in New York City. 
He conveys his mixed feelings about the action and his qualms about all
the form-filling and bureaucracy he has to go through.  Rakoff manages to be funny and entertaining,
while still making his point forcefully. 
Public radio listeners will recognize him from his appearances on This
American Life, and once you know his voice, you will read the book with
that voice in your head.  But his
writing stands up on its own, both conversational and clever, and very
enjoyable.  He covers a range of topics,
mostly off-beat and curious, including gay Republicans, one of the last flights
of the Concorde and another on Hooters air line, cosmetic surgery, and a visit
to the craft department at the Martha Stewart Living magazine.  Mostly he is curious and skeptical, but he
has occasional flashes of enthusiasm for details that enthrall him.  These short pieces are light and quickly
digested, leaving a pleasant aftertaste.

Link: Review of
Fraud by David Rakoff

© 2005 Christian Perring. All
rights reserved.