I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey

I Shudder is a side-splittingly funny collection of essays from Paul Rudnick, one of America’s preeminent humorists. Rudnick, who writes for The New Yorker and has written the screenplays for the films In and Out, Sister Act, and Addams Family Values, shares his hilarious observations on life in New York City and New Jersey, the perils of show business, and dealing with one’s family, however crazy they may be. As David Sedaris says, “There’s no book wiser or half as funny as I Shudder.” 

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.

“If [Edmund] White is all funk and sweat, then Paul Rudnick is all Jewish-boy-made-good humor and heart...Rudnick is a likable and accomplished raconteur who never loses sight of his own absurdity...only the most sour and jaded reader will be able to resist him.” - Washington Post Book World

“Poignant.” - San Diego Union-Tribune

“Rudnick is unquestionably funny...revelatory and moving.” - Haaretz Newspaper

“Paul Rudnick is a champion of truth (and love and great wicked humor) whom we ignore at our peril. There’s no book wiser or half as funny as I Shudder.” - David Sedaris

“[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.” - Newsday

“A laugh-out-loud pleasure to read...[Rudnick] writes with glee and unjudgmental warmth about the bohemian people and places of late 1970s and ‘80s.” - Asbury Park Press

“[A] smart, dishy and very funny essay collection.” - Daily News

“Playwright-screenwriter Rudnick (Addams Family Values) has written a hilarious, often touching hodgepodge of essays about his work and his life with his pleasingly demented family. It’s the literary equivalent of the tchotchke, at least as he defines it: ‘Something peculiar which you don’t need, and which has no discernible purpose or value, but which you can’t live without.”’ (Four out of four stars) - People

“A hilarious, often touching hodgepodge. . . . It’s the literary equivalent of the tchotchke, at least as [Paul Rudnick] defines it: ‘Something peculiar which you don’t need, and which has no discernible purpose or value, but which you can’t live without.’” (Four out of four stars) - People

“Uproariously 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.” - New York Times Book Review

“The 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.” - Entertainment Weekly

“Piscataway, N.J. and Hollywood don’t usually have much in common, but writer Paul Rudnick finds absurdity in both.” - Modern Tonic

“I 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 Paul’s early advantages.” - Steve Martin

“Uproariously self-deprecating essays of a gay, Jewish life in Manhattan, Hollywood and suburbia.” (Editor’s Choice) - New York Times