Scan barcode
brandongryder's review against another edition
3.0
My first Dave Eggers book and when I was done my reaction was "meh". A three star book at best. I might have liked it more when I was in my 20's. The story at the heart of the book was definitely heartbreaking but was certainly not genius.
biolexicon's review against another edition
4.0
The preface, corrections and acknowledgement sections MADE this book, hands down. Dave Eggers has such a quirky personality that it was delightful to hear his comments on something so familiar. The story itself, sadly enough, was disappointing in comparison. I could only read it in short parts, and it lacked the structure to be a novel. It seemed much more like strung together ramblings and short stories.
Regarding Eggers writing itself, it was very self-indulgent, very public. He has no inhibition or shame, nor concept of what’s meant to be left private. This works for setting up quirky circumstances and detailed descriptions, but as a whole it leaves the reader feeling overwhelmed fairly quickly.
One thing worth saying is that it was very funny. The novel’s humor didn’t seemed canned or forced, it made me laugh out loud, which is something I rarely do while reading (though I am guilty of saying so when a book really gives me only an internal chuckle).
On a closing, sort of unrelated note, I read the ending to this book while stranded on the side of the highway in Missouri. I was on a family trip and the tire to our truck blew out. We were stuck there for two and a half hours. Eggers’ writing fit the mood so perfectly; it was very odd.
Regarding Eggers writing itself, it was very self-indulgent, very public. He has no inhibition or shame, nor concept of what’s meant to be left private. This works for setting up quirky circumstances and detailed descriptions, but as a whole it leaves the reader feeling overwhelmed fairly quickly.
One thing worth saying is that it was very funny. The novel’s humor didn’t seemed canned or forced, it made me laugh out loud, which is something I rarely do while reading (though I am guilty of saying so when a book really gives me only an internal chuckle).
On a closing, sort of unrelated note, I read the ending to this book while stranded on the side of the highway in Missouri. I was on a family trip and the tire to our truck blew out. We were stuck there for two and a half hours. Eggers’ writing fit the mood so perfectly; it was very odd.
frostap's review against another edition
2.0
Oh, Dave Eggers. If I could draw a graph of how much I liked this book (as a function of pages read), it would start high, hit a peak around page 100, and then plummet to almost nothing, plateauing at a very low level of enjoyment for the last 150 pages. I was fascinated by how a quartet of siblings handle their parents' early deaths (within 32 days of each other!) and liked reading about Dave caring for his seven-year-old brother. I can't understand the twentysomething angstiness of the middle section, though, and kept thinking, "Man, maybe he should just finish college and get a real job?" I guess the artist part of me has been killed by pragmatism.
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
I was totaly sucked in and loved the first part of "HWoSG"...but the later parts of the books disappointed me.
fbroom's review against another edition
If you’re older than 24, then this book is unfortunately not for you.
If you’re younger, you might actually enjoy it and even love it.
If you’re younger, you might actually enjoy it and even love it.
jobarn's review against another edition
i don’t remember the specific reference in the show but it’s so clear why this is on the gilmore girls reading list. the writing felt really fun and unique and interesting and then it just ended up being so long. narrator was great. not giving a star rating because i actually don’t know if i liked it or not.
mavisbird's review against another edition
This book was exceptional! I really enjoyed reading it! It is very interesting to see the world through Egger's eyes. He is witty, dramatic, and a bit dark as well. This is a great book to read, touching on not only the struggles of responsibility and death, but also the struggles of jobs, friends, family, and self-pity. I recommend this book to anyone, especially young adults!
katykelly's review against another edition
3.0
This book doesn't work well as an audiobook.
I was intrigued by the title, by the story - the recounting (with embellishments) of a twenty-something man who takes guardianship of his 9-year-old brother after both their parents die of cancers, just four months apart.
Eggers is clever. He uses verbal tricks and voices and styles that would have played better on paper than they did listening on CD, where sometimes they were confusing.
I did find some of the book very moving indeed. Especially the first part, as Eggers describes what it was like as his mother lay dying. Some parts though I admit I found boring and rambling. Toph, the little brother, is at times a lovely little character and at others little more than background. Though seeing Eggers as a parent struggling to get his child to school on time was amusing.
Hit and miss for me though, so a 3-star read.
I was intrigued by the title, by the story - the recounting (with embellishments) of a twenty-something man who takes guardianship of his 9-year-old brother after both their parents die of cancers, just four months apart.
Eggers is clever. He uses verbal tricks and voices and styles that would have played better on paper than they did listening on CD, where sometimes they were confusing.
I did find some of the book very moving indeed. Especially the first part, as Eggers describes what it was like as his mother lay dying. Some parts though I admit I found boring and rambling. Toph, the little brother, is at times a lovely little character and at others little more than background. Though seeing Eggers as a parent struggling to get his child to school on time was amusing.
Hit and miss for me though, so a 3-star read.