Don’t Get Too Comfortable

A collection of humorous and beautifully written essays on our culture of excess.

Rakoff’s Don’t Get Too Comfortable is a book of cuttingly humorous commentaries on our culture of excess. Nothing is spared in his attempts to point out the inane sensibilities that shape our world. Whether he is writing about gluttony posing as asceticism; fashion week in Paris; the false martyrdom of the Gay Republican; or the elitism of cryogenics, Rakoff reveals the narcissism and materialism that often form “first world” choices. He writes: “Creature comfort is not some bourgeois capitalist construct, but framing it as a moral virtue sure is.” It is not the fact that we seek comforts that offends, but the fact that to obtain those comforts is considered the highest good.

Within his criticism is the knowledge that he is not immune or above partaking in such comforts. Rakoff clearly sees the contradiction within himself. His work attempts to hold up our shortcomings for ridicule with a quiet plea for a little humanity. Don’t Get Too Comfortable is simultaneously funny and poetic, and any fan of Rakoff (a regular contributor to This American Life) cannot read his words without hearing his melodic voice in their head. The worst part of reading Rakoff is the knowledge that, due to his death, the world will not be able to hear more from this compassionate master of the written word.

Fans of This American Life, David Sedaris, or Sarah Vowell, will enjoy this book.