AMORALMAN
A True Story and Other Lies
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Narrated by:
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Derek DelGaudio
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By:
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Derek DelGaudio
About this listen
Truth and lies are two sides of the same coin. But who's flipping it? A thought-provoking and brilliantly entertaining work of nonfiction from one of the world's leading deceivers, the creator and star of the astonishing theater show and forthcoming film In & of Itself.
Derek DelGaudio believed he was a decent, honest man. But when irrefutable evidence to the contrary is found in an old journal, his memories are reawakened and Derek is forced to confront - and try to understand - his role in a significant act of deception from his past.
Using his youthful notebook entries as a road map, Derek embarks on a soulful, often funny, sometimes dark journey, retracing the path that led him to a world populated by charlatans, card cheats, and con artists. As stories are peeled away and artifices are revealed, Derek examines the mystery behind his father's vanishing act, the secret he inherited from his mother, the obsession he developed with sleight-of-hand that shaped his future, and the affinity he felt for the professional swindlers who taught him how to deceive others. And once he finds himself working as a crooked dealer in a big-money Hollywood card game, Derek begins to question his own sense of morality, and discovers that even a master of deception can find himself trapped inside an illusion.
AMORALMAN is a wildly engaging exploration of the fictions we live as truths. It is ultimately a book about the lies we tell ourselves and the realities we manufacture in others.
©2021 Derek Delgaudio (P)2021 Random House AudioCritic Reviews
One of NPR's Best Books of the Year
"Every magician is, or wishes they were, masters of secrecy and deception. But what if you are a magician who doesn't want to deceive? Derek DelGaudio has given us a story about how and where we find truth, and he takes us through some very dark places to get there. We learn how a nice young man became a professional card cheat in a most dangerous game, we learn about magic, and about the shadows in Plato's Cave, about illusion and reality, until we finally discover that the book in and of itself is a magic trick - one that holds out the hope that we can all learn to walk out of the deceptive and cavernous darkness and into the light." (Neil Gaiman)
"The old hustler’s adage holds that 'the game is sold, never told' - meaning that anything you learn will cost you. AMORALMAN is a riveting ledger of one man’s education, a parable about the lines between grifters and marks, a moral man and an amoral one. Buy this book - it’s cheaper than not buying it." (Jelani Cobb)
“This is a book about honesty, deceit, and the short distance that lies between. It is a straightforward gaze at the blurry intersection of fact and fiction, and its revelations ultimately arouse suspicion about everything.” (Steve Martin)
What listeners say about AMORALMAN
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- VENESSA
- 20-05-2021
Great book, really enjoyed it.
A lovely writing style and captivating story. I loved the vulnerability, and frankness portrayed throughout. Derek sounds like a very interesting character, someone I'd like to meet.
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- Arran M.
- 12-03-2022
Fascinating story.
I’m a big fan of ‘in and of itself’ and found this just as satisfying. A good story told well and over too soon
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- Daylan
- 08-08-2022
Fun and engaging
The author tells you exactly what's happening and yet you still don't know that you're looking right at it. Derek is such a great storyteller. Very clever stuff.
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- Kindle Customer
- 25-09-2022
Riveting, moving and tight!
This was great to listen to after watching In and Of Itself, as it gives an insight into the background of Delgaudio which explains his style.
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1 person found this helpful