I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey (Hardcover)
Description
For more than twenty years, Paul Rudnick has been one of America′s most prominent and beloved humorists. From his acclaimed, much performed plays to his screenplays of wildly popular films to his regular contributions to Premiere magazine and The New Yorker, he has established himself as a comic genius whose talents transcend any one genre. Now, in this much overdue essay collection, he trains his wickedly perceptive eye on all manner of side-splitting subjects, from living in a series of increasingly bizarre, altogether fabulous apartments in New York City; to cavorting with a cast of colorful artists who have to be read to be believed; to dealing with some of the most perplexing yet endearing personalities in show business; to handling the finer points of putting up with, and loving, one′s family, however out of their gourds they may be; and, above all, to keeping one′s tongue sharp in the midst of life′s many obstacles and hilarities.
In this collection, Paul Rudnick takes his place firmly beside today′s most adored humor writers, from David Sedaris to Augusten Burroughs and onwards. Raucous, laugh-out-loud funny, and rendered in Rudnick′s gorgeous, always zinger-laden prose, I SHUDDER is one of the most accomplished essay collections in years, from one of America′s true comedic treasures.
Praise for I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey…
âeoeUproariously self-deprecating essays about being gay and Jewish in suburban New Jersey and downtown Manhattan...The vignettes that give the book its title offer...irresistible screeds against the indignities of modern urban life.âe
-New York Times Book Review
âeoe[A] smart, dishy and very funny essay collection.âe
-Daily News
âeoeA laugh-out-loud pleasure to read...[Rudnick] writes with glee and unjudgmental warmth about the bohemian people and places of late 1970s and âe~80s.âe
-Asbury Park Press
âeoeThe witty, sardonic playwright (Jeffrey) and screenwriter (In & Out, Addams Family Values) delivers an acerbic and entertaining memoir about his experiences as a child in New Jersey and an adult in showbiz.âe
-Entertainment Weekly
âeoe[A] lovable and astute collection of humor pieces...breezy and giddy with zingers, all handcrafted to make their good-natured defiance seem easy...[a] deceptively sweet and droll collection.âe
-Newsday
âeoePiscataway, N.J. and Hollywood donâe(TM)t usually have much in common, but writer Paul Rudnick finds absurdity in both.âe
-Modern Tonic
âeoeA hilarious, often touching hodgepodge. . . . Itâe(TM)s the literary equivalent of the tchotchke, at least as [Paul Rudnick] defines it: âe~Something peculiar which you donâe(TM)t need, and which has no discernible purpose or value, but which you canâe(TM)t live without.âe(TM)âe (Four out of four stars)
-People
âeoePaul Rudnick is a champion of truth (and love and great wicked humor) whom we ignore at our peril. Thereâe(TM)s no book wiser or half as funny as I Shudder.âe
-David Sedaris
âeoeUproariously self-deprecating essays of a gay, Jewish life in Manhattan, Hollywood and suburbia.âe (Editorâe(TM)s Choice)
-New York Times
âeoeI Shudder is filled with deeply funny musings and adventures that elevate Paul Rudnick to the highest level of American comedy writing. It should be noted that I would be at the highest level of American comedy writing if I had had Paulâe(TM)s early advantages.âe
-Steve Martin
