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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Ugh, this took me ages. He writes like he has ADHD, which I loved for the first half of the book, but it starts to wear as it gets further in. Quite clear that he put a lot of himself into this. That kind of emotional honesty is touching, but I found it much better in small doses.
I read half and gave up. I just didn’t care for his writing style.
Really enjoyed it start to finish. Good wit. Lots of self deprecating humor. Wonderful coming of age story with quirky family dynamics woven throughout.
I found the stream of consciousness style that Eggers uses in this book to be crazy, sad, funny, eccentric, and annoying all at the same time. I definitely didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. It was just weird... Entertainingly so... But weird.
Now I know why people love or hate this book so much. While the story is about the author raising his young brother in the wake of his parents' death from separate cancers mere weeks apart, it doesn't really describe the book. It's a product of its time, the age (so glad I read this in my mid-20s). So that means: Dave Eggers is (or was, back then), a paranoid, neurotic, manic, joyful, crazy, lazy, self-loathing and self-aggrandizing person who was so so in his own head that he couldn't cleanly produce something beautiful without over-analyzing it into pulp. The over-analysis of every gesture, word, etc. is uncomfortably familiar to me, and so I enjoyed the kinship with Dave while rolling my eyes at all the other bullshit he put on the page.
So I liked it, a lot, and appreciated it more. I don't think I could muster re-reading this but I will certainly not be forgetting some of his most memorable words. People who have control over their thoughts would probably not like this very much, but if you're a scatter-brain with too much self-awareness, you'll love the connection with the author OR hate him for putting such an accurate mirror on your self. Decide how uncomfortable you want to be when reading and if it hits below a 7 on a 1-10 scale, probably put this one down. For now.
*Edit*
I originally made a comparison to Infinite Jest, thinking Eggers was inspired by it. But then I deleted it because I thought it was not a good connection. WRONG. Turns it he basically hated it when he wrote a review for the San Francisco Chronicle and then try to bury it when he changed his mind and ended up writing a preface to the 10th anniversary edition. People grow up! But not really!
LINK: http://www.edrants.com/the-infinite-jest-review-that-dave-eggers-doesnt-want-you-to-read/
So I liked it, a lot, and appreciated it more. I don't think I could muster re-reading this but I will certainly not be forgetting some of his most memorable words. People who have control over their thoughts would probably not like this very much, but if you're a scatter-brain with too much self-awareness, you'll love the connection with the author OR hate him for putting such an accurate mirror on your self. Decide how uncomfortable you want to be when reading and if it hits below a 7 on a 1-10 scale, probably put this one down. For now.
*Edit*
I originally made a comparison to Infinite Jest, thinking Eggers was inspired by it. But then I deleted it because I thought it was not a good connection. WRONG. Turns it he basically hated it when he wrote a review for the San Francisco Chronicle and then try to bury it when he changed his mind and ended up writing a preface to the 10th anniversary edition. People grow up! But not really!
LINK: http://www.edrants.com/the-infinite-jest-review-that-dave-eggers-doesnt-want-you-to-read/
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
I hope Toph is okay these days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent
I read the front matter to this book and then waited about three months to start the acutal story. Then I immediately went back and reread the front matter--which really does make sense after reading the rest. This book is unlike anything I've ever read, starting with the copyright page (ha!). Words cannot describe(my words, anyway)...I loved it.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Dave Eggers è un affabulatore, che con tono compiaciuto e ironico, scrive massimizzando di morte, soprattutto.
Il romanzo, di natura autobiografica, racconta la storia del ventiduenne Dave che, in seguito alla morte di entrambi i genitori, si ritrova a dover accudire il fratellino Toph, di soli otto anni.
La morte è una presenza ingombrante in questo libro, spesso prepotente anche nelle ansie e paranoie del protagonista, che immagina il fratello assassinato e morto mentre è in casa da solo o con la babysitter (la cosa fa molto anni 90, credetemi).
Dave però è un entusiasta, uno spirito disordinato e tuonante con una spropositata voglia di emergere e il suo entusiasmo tracima dalle pagine. Una vita al massimo come espediente per spazzare via la morte così presente.
Un libro un po’ invecchiato, che ha saputo fotografare come pochi lo sforzo senza direzione della generazione X: Dave si definisce una figura tragica tormentata dalla sfortuna che la gente comune non può comprendere.
Un outsider che è riuscito a rialzarsi da una disgrazia, che accetta tutto ciò che di buono la vita gli offre, vivendo alla giornata.
Una storia ambientata nel periodo di trapasso della contemporaneità americana, gli anni 90, quando la tecnologia bussava timidamente alla porta del quotidiano. Il mondo doveva ancora cambiare, non era ancora veloce e senza memoria come oggi.
Depurata di qualche pagina troppo pesante, dell’eccessiva autoreferenzialità (di cui ho apprezzato tantissimo gli intenti narrativi esplicati nell’intervista a MVT, un po’ meno la resa) e alleggerita dalle paranoie, L’opera struggente di un formidabile genio ci regala qualche capitolo davvero bello.
Il romanzo, di natura autobiografica, racconta la storia del ventiduenne Dave che, in seguito alla morte di entrambi i genitori, si ritrova a dover accudire il fratellino Toph, di soli otto anni.
La morte è una presenza ingombrante in questo libro, spesso prepotente anche nelle ansie e paranoie del protagonista, che immagina il fratello assassinato e morto mentre è in casa da solo o con la babysitter (la cosa fa molto anni 90, credetemi).
Dave però è un entusiasta, uno spirito disordinato e tuonante con una spropositata voglia di emergere e il suo entusiasmo tracima dalle pagine. Una vita al massimo come espediente per spazzare via la morte così presente.
Un libro un po’ invecchiato, che ha saputo fotografare come pochi lo sforzo senza direzione della generazione X: Dave si definisce una figura tragica tormentata dalla sfortuna che la gente comune non può comprendere.
Un outsider che è riuscito a rialzarsi da una disgrazia, che accetta tutto ciò che di buono la vita gli offre, vivendo alla giornata.
Una storia ambientata nel periodo di trapasso della contemporaneità americana, gli anni 90, quando la tecnologia bussava timidamente alla porta del quotidiano. Il mondo doveva ancora cambiare, non era ancora veloce e senza memoria come oggi.
Depurata di qualche pagina troppo pesante, dell’eccessiva autoreferenzialità (di cui ho apprezzato tantissimo gli intenti narrativi esplicati nell’intervista a MVT, un po’ meno la resa) e alleggerita dalle paranoie, L’opera struggente di un formidabile genio ci regala qualche capitolo davvero bello.
Eggers had been on my "to read" shelf forever, but I saw Where the Wild Things are a few weeks ago and was emotionally traumatized (and I mean that in a complimentary way) - plus Eggers was coming to campus and I was working the event, so I moved this book tot he top of my queue and I was not disappointed. It's funny, irreverent, and touching. True - like he warns you in the beginning - you can skip the whole middle part - but even those parts are entertaining.