Description based on print version record.

The bleak shall inherit -- Shrimp -- Isn't it romantic? -- The satisfying crunch of dreams underfoot -- Dark meat -- On juicy -- A capacity for wonder -- I feel dirty -- All the time we have -- Another shoe.

The inimitably witty David Rakoff defends the commonsensical notion that you should always assume the worst, because you'll never be disappointed. In this deeply funny (and, no kidding, wise and poignant) book, Rakoff examines the realities of our sunny, everyone-can-be-a-star contemporary culture and finds that, pretty much as a universal rule, the best is not yet to come, adversity will triumph, justice will not be served, and your dreams won't come true. Whether he's lacerating the musical Rent for its cutesy depiction of AIDS or dealing with personal tragedy, his sharp observations and humorist's flair for the absurd will have you positively reveling in the power of negativity.--From publisher description.