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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
i wasn't too fond of this one. i was searching for it at the bookstore and a woman told me not to get my hopes up...i should have heeded her advice! so yeah i read it and it's definitely clever and honest but it's also just him thinking his life is really interesting when it's not...at least not in my opinion...there was a reason he didn't get picked for real world!
grr. i caught myself skimming a lot of it just to get thru with it.
grr. i caught myself skimming a lot of it just to get thru with it.
I feel bad that I didn't enjoy the book as much as its glowing reviews promised I would. The book tells the true story of Dave Eggers and how he became the primary guardian (along with his older brother and sister) of his much younger brother Toph when both his parents die within weeks of one another through different forms of cancer. I enjoyed the first 100 pages a lot (as Eggers himself predicted I would) but my reaction to the rest of the book varied from mild warmth to wild disgust based on the level of fake (I felt) self-concious posing of the writing at the time. I really wish Eggers had stuck to a "straight" memoir detailing his life (with some of his customary cheekiness thrown in)-I would have really felt a connection to the writing then. As it is, I had to force myself to finish this book and gave it 2 stars. True Story: When I had finally finished reading AHWOSG my sister heard the disgusted sigh I let out and asked me what was wrong. I told her about the book and read the last paragraph (if you could call it that-it's basically two pages of an uninterrupted sentence filled to bursting with unnecessary curse words) out loud to her to demonstrate what I so disliked about the book. When I finished she asked why I had forced myself to finish a book that I hadn't especially like from the very beginning? My answer-(that I felt complelled to read a book that had received so many great reviews from both professional reviewers and regular readers)-made me feel like a bit of a lemming, or follower. But despite that, I still think that people should read the book because 1. they might love the book(even if I didn't) and 2. I think it is important (provided that AHWOSG sounds interesting to you at the onset) to read a book that is such a cultural milestone.
I was halfway through this book before I started reading the reviews. Much of the criticism seems to miss a large point. If you approach this book to read it like a sweet and heartwarming autobiography of a orphaned man who has to raise his orphaned younger brother, you will be sorely disappointed and will probably end up giving this book 1 or 2 stars on the Amazon review. This is not an autobiography written in the voice of a seasoned and mature man looking back at his earlier age and one should not approach it as such. Instead, Dave Eggers has written this book in the very voice of a 22 year old male, with all the attendant self-absorbed, occasionally egotisical and "world-revolves-around-me" passages one would expect. Mr. Eggers was brilliant to write it this way (it will take another book to make sure its just not the way he writes ;)), it is exactly how I'd expect a typical 22 year old to sound and write making it all that much more believable and in fact, poignant. He writes of the death of his parents, the raising of his younger brother, starting his own business, love life and more, and he writes extremely well, at times hilarious and occasionally with deep pathos. The description of San Francisco is dead on true (a child's colored construction paper and pipe cleaner creation) and loving, the scene of reading his younger brother Hiroshima is sublime. Just remember as you read it, it is the voice of a 22 year old at the time of the telling, not looking back through the prism of time and maturity, then you might find how brilliant and well written it is.
But why did I give it 4 stars and not 5? because some of the criticism I read here when I was half way through the book, I came to find out was true. As he enters the long interview with the Real World staff member, I started to find my self skimming instead of immersed as I was in the earlier half. I finally skimmed quickly till I was out of the interview. The rest of the book was back to my immersion. I went back to read it to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I wasn't really. The interview is tedious and unfortunately a large portion of the book. I think I understand what he was doing, but it doesn't seem to work. Much of it could have been distilled down to 2 or 3 pages of thought-out writing. I wish he would have, it would have made for a 5 star rating on my part at least. Still, the book is excellent and I believe the start of a great career.
I do look forward to reading the next book from Dave Eggers.
But why did I give it 4 stars and not 5? because some of the criticism I read here when I was half way through the book, I came to find out was true. As he enters the long interview with the Real World staff member, I started to find my self skimming instead of immersed as I was in the earlier half. I finally skimmed quickly till I was out of the interview. The rest of the book was back to my immersion. I went back to read it to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I wasn't really. The interview is tedious and unfortunately a large portion of the book. I think I understand what he was doing, but it doesn't seem to work. Much of it could have been distilled down to 2 or 3 pages of thought-out writing. I wish he would have, it would have made for a 5 star rating on my part at least. Still, the book is excellent and I believe the start of a great career.
I do look forward to reading the next book from Dave Eggers.
Meh, this was so erratic in its narrative, I really couldn't keep very well. It was obviously shooting for dark humor but just came off as overwhelmingly bleak for my taste.
I really like Eggers's style, but this didn't get 4 stars because I almost feel like he tried to cover too much territory and got worn out in the course of writing it. Some parts were genius and, yes, heartbreaking, or really funny, but some parts made me feel tired because it seemed as though he were writing them just to add them in, and not because he felt passionate about writing them. (I don't know if that makes sense or not, but it does in my head.)
Note: The preface and the acknowledgments were actually highlights, but I recommend reading them AFTER you finish the book, as they give away a lot of plot details and refer to things you won't understand if you read them ahead of time.
Overall, I recommend it because I've never read anything quite like it, but I don't know if it lives up to the title of "staggering genius," which is of course not meant to be taken literally anyway.
Note: The preface and the acknowledgments were actually highlights, but I recommend reading them AFTER you finish the book, as they give away a lot of plot details and refer to things you won't understand if you read them ahead of time.
Overall, I recommend it because I've never read anything quite like it, but I don't know if it lives up to the title of "staggering genius," which is of course not meant to be taken literally anyway.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
One of my favorite books ever. Originally read it when I was 16, and now I’m 32, and I love love love it still.
Such an honest, raw portrayal of grief — and in a way I’ve never heard anyone else talk about it. Everyone talks about the sadness and anger, but Eggers includes how some of us have this ugly, embarrassing tendency to want to use that grief to our advantage, to use it as a shield, to throw it in everyone’s face while at the same time wanting to hide from the world. It inspired a lot of my own writing in the past couple of weeks, drummed up memories of my own dad’s funeral, things I’d long forgotten or blocked out.
And it’s wildly funny. He captures the other end of the seesaw of grief — unabridged, delirious joy — masterfully. The transitions between profound, beautiful prose and immature, hilarious brotherly antics were seamless. It had me laughing with tears in my eyes, pulling my heart right out of my body.
I fucking love this silly messy wonderful book so much it hurts.
Such an honest, raw portrayal of grief — and in a way I’ve never heard anyone else talk about it. Everyone talks about the sadness and anger, but Eggers includes how some of us have this ugly, embarrassing tendency to want to use that grief to our advantage, to use it as a shield, to throw it in everyone’s face while at the same time wanting to hide from the world. It inspired a lot of my own writing in the past couple of weeks, drummed up memories of my own dad’s funeral, things I’d long forgotten or blocked out.
And it’s wildly funny. He captures the other end of the seesaw of grief — unabridged, delirious joy — masterfully. The transitions between profound, beautiful prose and immature, hilarious brotherly antics were seamless. It had me laughing with tears in my eyes, pulling my heart right out of my body.
I fucking love this silly messy wonderful book so much it hurts.
I was really depressed and maybe a bit crazy when I read this book, so it really appealed to me. I'd like to read it again so that I can remember why I liked it so much.
Read it a second time and pretty much enjoyed it, although I think it spoke to me more when I was a mentally unstable 22 year old.
Read it a second time and pretty much enjoyed it, although I think it spoke to me more when I was a mentally unstable 22 year old.
(Reviewed Feb 24, 2015)
As I’m sure it was designed to do, the title of this book caught my eye. It stood out among the myriad titles on the reading list, written in pink ink on notebook paper, that I have tacked up in my cubicle. A heartbreaking work, it claimed to be, not just of regular, run-of-the-mill genius, but of staggering genius. I had no idea what it was about, just that the title made it out to be something amazing. But “heartbreaking” and “staggering genius” can describe a lot of genres. Was it a transcendent romance for the ages? Was it a tale of atrocious abuse and neglect overcome by unwavering optimism? Did it follow the lives and trials of the sentient roundworms inhabiting a planet in the Mintaka solar system? Whatever it was, I was ready to be forever changed by reading it.
Turns out that it’s a memoir. Sort of. It covers actual events that happened in Eggers’ life — the loss of his parents to cancer, becoming the guardian to his younger brother, their move to San Francisco — but it’s clear that the author has exaggerated or fictionalized certain parts of the story. Dave chronicles his (often feeble) struggles to have an impact on the world, balancing his ambition with his new parental responsibilities. It is a blend of humor, philosophy and self-reference that makes for a compelling read.
Having finished it, I can definitively say that I don’t know what to make of this book. On the one hand, it was beautifully written. Eggers shows a prodigious command of the English language, and his writing is a true pleasure to read. The narrator speaks intimately to the reader, as if confiding in a friend — a mix of gritty truths, ridiculous exaggerations and deep personal insights. By the end, I felt like he was someone I knew.
On the other hand, the fact/fiction blend blurred the storyline and sometimes made it difficult to follow. Eggers often exaggerates events or dialogue or makes them up. Which is cool. The book does not claim to be completely true, and sometimes alludes to the fact that certain parts are indeed made up. This creates an interesting reader-narrator relationship. The reader recognizes that the narrator is unreliable, but the narrator admits that he is unreliable, so that, I guess, makes him reliable in his unreliability? If that sentence is confusing, then you’ve gotten a taste of how I felt the whole time I was reading.
Eggers often takes breaks from exposition in order to wax poetic on subjects such as his (or his character’s) personal insecurities and where to draw the line between personal and public life. It’s all very honest and self-referential, but can seem a bit masturbatory at times. The book is very self-aware, admitting its self-awareness, and then admitting the admission of its self-awareness. It got (for me) tiresome after a while. I get it, dude. You’re so meta it’s killing me.
So while I enjoyed reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, it was not the life-changing experience I expected from the title. Was it heartbreaking? Not particularly. The characters were appropriately tragic and identifiable, but never vulnerable enough to elicit an emotional response anywhere close to “heartbreaking”. Is Dave Eggers a genius? It’s very possible. His writing is very good. That writing an entire book which basically screams “recognize me for my genius!” won him a bunch of awards is pretty genius in and of itself. But I’m not entirely sure I buy it.
As I’m sure it was designed to do, the title of this book caught my eye. It stood out among the myriad titles on the reading list, written in pink ink on notebook paper, that I have tacked up in my cubicle. A heartbreaking work, it claimed to be, not just of regular, run-of-the-mill genius, but of staggering genius. I had no idea what it was about, just that the title made it out to be something amazing. But “heartbreaking” and “staggering genius” can describe a lot of genres. Was it a transcendent romance for the ages? Was it a tale of atrocious abuse and neglect overcome by unwavering optimism? Did it follow the lives and trials of the sentient roundworms inhabiting a planet in the Mintaka solar system? Whatever it was, I was ready to be forever changed by reading it.
Turns out that it’s a memoir. Sort of. It covers actual events that happened in Eggers’ life — the loss of his parents to cancer, becoming the guardian to his younger brother, their move to San Francisco — but it’s clear that the author has exaggerated or fictionalized certain parts of the story. Dave chronicles his (often feeble) struggles to have an impact on the world, balancing his ambition with his new parental responsibilities. It is a blend of humor, philosophy and self-reference that makes for a compelling read.
Having finished it, I can definitively say that I don’t know what to make of this book. On the one hand, it was beautifully written. Eggers shows a prodigious command of the English language, and his writing is a true pleasure to read. The narrator speaks intimately to the reader, as if confiding in a friend — a mix of gritty truths, ridiculous exaggerations and deep personal insights. By the end, I felt like he was someone I knew.
On the other hand, the fact/fiction blend blurred the storyline and sometimes made it difficult to follow. Eggers often exaggerates events or dialogue or makes them up. Which is cool. The book does not claim to be completely true, and sometimes alludes to the fact that certain parts are indeed made up. This creates an interesting reader-narrator relationship. The reader recognizes that the narrator is unreliable, but the narrator admits that he is unreliable, so that, I guess, makes him reliable in his unreliability? If that sentence is confusing, then you’ve gotten a taste of how I felt the whole time I was reading.
Eggers often takes breaks from exposition in order to wax poetic on subjects such as his (or his character’s) personal insecurities and where to draw the line between personal and public life. It’s all very honest and self-referential, but can seem a bit masturbatory at times. The book is very self-aware, admitting its self-awareness, and then admitting the admission of its self-awareness. It got (for me) tiresome after a while. I get it, dude. You’re so meta it’s killing me.
So while I enjoyed reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, it was not the life-changing experience I expected from the title. Was it heartbreaking? Not particularly. The characters were appropriately tragic and identifiable, but never vulnerable enough to elicit an emotional response anywhere close to “heartbreaking”. Is Dave Eggers a genius? It’s very possible. His writing is very good. That writing an entire book which basically screams “recognize me for my genius!” won him a bunch of awards is pretty genius in and of itself. But I’m not entirely sure I buy it.