The Art of Faking It

A few days ago， the Chinese version of The Art of Faking It， a best selling book in the United States， went public with great expectation. This book was introduced by Southern Publishing House. And just a week after its publishing， it became the top-ranked new literature book at dangdang.com and one of the most popular new books at douban. com. This book is viewed by New York Times: “A so interesting dialogue guide that you have never seen before. The best of it， is that it can teach you to be humorous， which is the key to make you outstanding in the crowd， besides bringing you important and fashionable information.”The author Laurence WhittedFry really has some knowledge in culture， art and life style. The aim of the book was to satirize those people who used to fake themselves， but the humorous and knowledgeable style make it popular in no time， and become a guide for the fake. The author felt surprised and frustrated. For a time， he rejected all interviews， and swore to“fake” for ever!The Art of Faking It is composed by 20 topics which were considered groovy in social occurrences， including movie， wine， books， women and men pickup， drama， travel， music， architecture， psychoanalysis and so on. Laurence reminded the copycats: “Fake is a technology that needs practice and research. If you spoke shilly-shally， even though you know the thing very well， you won’t persuade your targets. Besides absorbing information the book provides， it is necessary to develop matching smile， frown， shrug and sarcastic countenances.”Movie: never talk about stars or plotsThe first topic talked in the book is movie， which is also the hottest topic in the Internet. Rule No.1 for talking about movies is never talk of the stars or the plot， but the dominator of this world — the director.“Don’t discuss a cop and gangster movie starred by Dicaprio. You should say ‘that’s Scorcese’s the Gangs of New York’， and this film is about ‘violence， loyalty， and the American dream’. Some Like It Hot isn’t a comedy by Marilyn Monroe， but the best of Billy Wilder. The Lord of the Rings is not an exciting story of the hobbits， but a masterpiece of Peter Jackson to express himself through fantasy.”Wine: drinking heaviely means nothing， but a good taste could reflects your eruditionIf you just compare the amount of liquor or beer you and your business partners drink， but don’t know shake or stir the glass when drinking martini， you will make a fool of yourself. Read up The Art of Faking It， and prevent from displaying your ignorance: “Till now， colorless and odorless remain the features of vodka. Adding lemon juice， lime juice， or pepper， gallons， vanilla， and even venison， that’s what bumpkins will do， as they often swallow foods while drinking cocktails. People graceful as you never do like that.”As a real addict of whisky， you should talk of its origin emotionally.“The pure malt whisky you select must come from Highland or Islay. Highland whisky is sweeter， while Islay whisky is famous for its flavor with smoke and peat taste.”Q 1: Why you write this topic? Has there any specific thing inspired you to write this book?A 1: Too much information comes to us every day – internet， TV， newspapers， magazines - how can we be experts about everything? We can’t. I wrote the book to give busy people enough information about some difficult – and trendy – subjects so they can sound informed and intelligent with not-too-much information. In social life， it isn’t how much you know， it is how much other people think you know!Q 2: Would there be any negative consequence of being fake? Have you had any experience that made you feel awkward?A 2: Yes – do not try to fake it with a real expert on any subject. When you realize that someone else knows MUCH more than you do， just listen and agree!And you can not fake knowing much about another person’s culture unless you have lived where they live!Q 3: What is the highest lever of “being fake”?A 3: When the expert asks you your opinion.Q 4: After this book being published， was there anyone or any of your friends coming to you and saying that he or she would like you to teach them something not mentioned in the book?A 4: Yes – “What about modern art? How do you know if it is good – or terrible?” I answer “If it looks good hanging on my wall， over my sofa (couch)， it is good.”Q 5: For those young people who want to get into the upper class of society， do you have any words for them?A 5: Do not lie – just smile and say “I know what you mean” when upper class people describe fabulous hotels or flying first class or sailing on a yacht. Or if the upper class people like you and admire you say “I have always wanted to learn about such things， but my studies have kept me from such leisure activities.” Maybe they will invite you!Q 6: What is the attitude to “ Being Fake” in American culture? Against it? Or others?A 6: Well， the secret is to not look or act “fake.”“Faking It” is an art， like painting or dancing. Do it gracefully so that people think that “Fake” is “Real.”Q 7: What do you think of the trend of “ being fake” in current society?A 7: If you can guess that the person is “fake”then they are failure. Like a wig (or toupé): if you know it is fake， it is immediately bad!Q 8: What is your perception of China? Do you like the culture of China?A 8: I am fascinated by Chinese history， ancient and modern and wonder what China will be like in 25 years. More western? A combination of east and west? The world is watching and thinking!Q 9: If this book can be very popular in China， what do you want to say to Chinese readers?A 9: Welcome to the world of knowing everything – and not being shy about not knowing enough. The real secret is: The more you know， the more people will tell you – and then you know everything!Q 10: If you can choose， what is your most favorite job? Why?A 10: King of New York – if New York had King!