Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die; Cherish, Perish, a Novel

"David Rakoff’s posthumous first novel, written in rhyming verse that’s more akin to Dr. Seuss than T.S. Eliot, is a seductive heartbreaker. Its 12 cleverly connected vignettes span much of the 20th century and are filled with the sly, sharp social commentary that made him a perennial favorite on This American Life. Spinning rhymes like “San Francisco” and “Crisco,” “paradise” and “pubic lice,” and “Christian Lacroix” and “bourgeois” while dying at 47 from cancer, Rakoff infused Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish not just with his withering wit but with a piercing, wistful appreciation for life, love and art."

"I just finished the manuscript of the new book “Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die; Cherish, Perish, a Novel,” by David Rakoff. It’s a rhyming “novel,” very funny and very sad, which is my favorite combination."