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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Let me just say that I love Dave Eggers, both as a writer and as something of a literary institution. He had single-handedly, it seems to me, brought back into our collective awareness the immediacy and vitality of the literary journal and short form fiction.
This is an early work by Eggers and is...well...fairly strange. But in its own quirky way, it is a wonderful exploration of, among other things, grief, confusion, uncertainty, youth and impetuosity. Here's the deal: Will has come into a chunk of money at about the same time that one of his two best friends is killed in a car accident. Will has some trouble coping with both of these facts and decides to go on a whirlwind African/European/Asian trip with his other best friend, Hand, where over a week they will go as far as they can (the original plan is for around the world, but this proves impractical) and give away as much of Will's money as they can while doing so. During the trip Will calls his mother and writes to his twin nieces (who he has nicknamed, delightfully, Mo and Thor) so realistically that they become part of the narrative.
A setup like this could devolve into just another buddy/travel book, but it veers far from any such triteness and into a weirdness that feels, at the same time, very intimate, immediate, and real. Will careens between emotions and has a restless mind that will not leave him in peace. Hand is impetuous and raw, with a sense of himself that feels neither truthful nor justified, but nonetheless makes him attractive to those around him, as many a free spirit does.
There's just one problem: according to Hand, who intervenes about 2/3 of the way into the novel, Will is an entirely unreliable narrator. I won't spoil the story for you by telling you just what Hand reveals, but it twists your head around and makes you take another look at everything that was written before and after. What is especially brilliant about this revelation, though, is that Hand himself is an unstable character and could be just as unreliable as Will. It makes for a comic and heartbreaking kind of confusion.
Here's the thing, though: what Eggers truly achieves (as does much of postmodernism at its best) is a challenge to our most cherished illusions. Because of the heartfelt nature of the composition and themes of the book, we suspect that Eggers may be writing from personal experience; that is one level of belief. We then become drawn into Will's narrative and allow it to become "real" for us, a second and complementary layer. As part of that narrative we come to know and love Hand, who then undercuts the reality all that has come before; a third layer. And though Hand's credibility is undermined in turn, we have come to know that both of these young men are just unstable enough that neither of them is entirely trustworthy. In other words, Eggers forces us to question our assumptions about what is real and our all-too-willing suspension of disbelief in the name of immersing ourselves in Story. While knowing that what Will writes is fiction, we want it to be "true"; if this were not so, Hand's revelations would be nothing but another part of the story. It is a wonderful conceit and expertly managed.
Unfortunately, the whole thing also feels a bit amateurish, as is fitting for a novel written by such a young man. It could be argued that this is an intentional form of storytelling on his part, but it really doesn't come off as such, more often reading like something written on notebook paper by a 16-year-old with delusions of grandeur who should be studying his geometry homework. Don't let this discourage you from reading this or other works by Eggers, though. His is one of a small number of voices in current American letters that are consistently worth reading.
This is an early work by Eggers and is...well...fairly strange. But in its own quirky way, it is a wonderful exploration of, among other things, grief, confusion, uncertainty, youth and impetuosity. Here's the deal: Will has come into a chunk of money at about the same time that one of his two best friends is killed in a car accident. Will has some trouble coping with both of these facts and decides to go on a whirlwind African/European/Asian trip with his other best friend, Hand, where over a week they will go as far as they can (the original plan is for around the world, but this proves impractical) and give away as much of Will's money as they can while doing so. During the trip Will calls his mother and writes to his twin nieces (who he has nicknamed, delightfully, Mo and Thor) so realistically that they become part of the narrative.
A setup like this could devolve into just another buddy/travel book, but it veers far from any such triteness and into a weirdness that feels, at the same time, very intimate, immediate, and real. Will careens between emotions and has a restless mind that will not leave him in peace. Hand is impetuous and raw, with a sense of himself that feels neither truthful nor justified, but nonetheless makes him attractive to those around him, as many a free spirit does.
There's just one problem: according to Hand, who intervenes about 2/3 of the way into the novel, Will is an entirely unreliable narrator. I won't spoil the story for you by telling you just what Hand reveals, but it twists your head around and makes you take another look at everything that was written before and after. What is especially brilliant about this revelation, though, is that Hand himself is an unstable character and could be just as unreliable as Will. It makes for a comic and heartbreaking kind of confusion.
Here's the thing, though: what Eggers truly achieves (as does much of postmodernism at its best) is a challenge to our most cherished illusions. Because of the heartfelt nature of the composition and themes of the book, we suspect that Eggers may be writing from personal experience; that is one level of belief. We then become drawn into Will's narrative and allow it to become "real" for us, a second and complementary layer. As part of that narrative we come to know and love Hand, who then undercuts the reality all that has come before; a third layer. And though Hand's credibility is undermined in turn, we have come to know that both of these young men are just unstable enough that neither of them is entirely trustworthy. In other words, Eggers forces us to question our assumptions about what is real and our all-too-willing suspension of disbelief in the name of immersing ourselves in Story. While knowing that what Will writes is fiction, we want it to be "true"; if this were not so, Hand's revelations would be nothing but another part of the story. It is a wonderful conceit and expertly managed.
Unfortunately, the whole thing also feels a bit amateurish, as is fitting for a novel written by such a young man. It could be argued that this is an intentional form of storytelling on his part, but it really doesn't come off as such, more often reading like something written on notebook paper by a 16-year-old with delusions of grandeur who should be studying his geometry homework. Don't let this discourage you from reading this or other works by Eggers, though. His is one of a small number of voices in current American letters that are consistently worth reading.
The story felt like stream of consciousness a lot of the time-which I liked, because it reminded me of the patterns of my own mind. Ultimately it’s a fictional hard look at what a person does, thinks, feels in the immediate months after a tragedy (or two), and it made perfect sense to me. I related to a lot of Will’s “bumblebee blundering thoughts,” and wanted to keep reading even when the story was depressing me immensely.
I love Eggers. Three people in the last week asked me what I was reading, and none of them had heard of Eggers. That made me sad. I hope they look him up now that they have heard his name.
I love Eggers. Three people in the last week asked me what I was reading, and none of them had heard of Eggers. That made me sad. I hope they look him up now that they have heard his name.
This is the version with Hand's interlude. I'm really kind of super sad I didn't read the original, I might have liked it. I really want to like certain things about this book, some of the ideas and themes (even though Eggers hand is so fucking heavy with everything that it's a little insulting). Trying to describe the book I told someone "It's okay if you squint at it" which I think means that it's okay if you don't look at all of it and ignore parts of it. I really want to like this book, I really want to sympathize with a character that needs to run away when things get hard and with the feeling of needing to move, but I can't because the characters are poorly developed, and kind of dumb. This book makes me sigh.
Lifelong friends Will and Hand set out on a journey around the world with $32,000 Will has mysteriously inherited. Their goal: to give all the money away. They encounter inevitable challenges based on their last minute decisions and their objectives are curious, if not irrational. Eggers's debut novel focuses on this rational and irrational, but he also highlights life and death, the illusion of progress, and ultimately, the idea of movement. If Will is always moving, then he will always be catapulting towards the future, living his life completely.
With great flashbacks that remind us of our youthful innocence and riddled with memories of their deceased friend Jack, You Shall Know Our Velocity! is an excellent postmodern narrative of a 27-year old man struggling with his existence. It's preachy at times, which is probably the most consistent critique I have, but this preachiness is eventually forgiven thanks to its captivating narrative, one that is centered around seeing new things, meeting new people, and giving away hundreds of dollars worth of cash randomly and "without control." Money is their language and traveling is their vehicle of execution. Ironically, as Will struggles to get over the unfairness in the sudden death of his best friend, ahe also discovers new meaning to his fragile life in his close encounters with death.
To Eggers, movement is a form of expression and like the tribes of Chilean Jumping People, a form of identity. It can also be a form of salvation, unshackling the restrictions of death and allowing Will to let go and find new meaning outside of his boxed Northern Chicago existence. And this is why Eggers is so popular. He captures the voice of a new generation -- a critique can be he's too intentional in his efforts to speak to millennials -- and forces you to think about your own place in contemporary society.
With great flashbacks that remind us of our youthful innocence and riddled with memories of their deceased friend Jack, You Shall Know Our Velocity! is an excellent postmodern narrative of a 27-year old man struggling with his existence. It's preachy at times, which is probably the most consistent critique I have, but this preachiness is eventually forgiven thanks to its captivating narrative, one that is centered around seeing new things, meeting new people, and giving away hundreds of dollars worth of cash randomly and "without control." Money is their language and traveling is their vehicle of execution. Ironically, as Will struggles to get over the unfairness in the sudden death of his best friend, ahe also discovers new meaning to his fragile life in his close encounters with death.
To Eggers, movement is a form of expression and like the tribes of Chilean Jumping People, a form of identity. It can also be a form of salvation, unshackling the restrictions of death and allowing Will to let go and find new meaning outside of his boxed Northern Chicago existence. And this is why Eggers is so popular. He captures the voice of a new generation -- a critique can be he's too intentional in his efforts to speak to millennials -- and forces you to think about your own place in contemporary society.
I rate this book 2.5 Stars.
My brain is still lolling around trying to know what to make of this book. The only other time I have come away from a book and been puzzled about how I feel happened with DBC Pierre`s book [b:Vernon God Little|11711|Vernon God Little|D.B.C. Pierre|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166485596s/11711.jpg|426037].
In [b:You Shall Know Our Velocity!|4954|You Shall Know Our Velocity!|Dave Eggers|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165516036s/4954.jpg|2641412], there were moments of brilliance and also moments of mediocrity, moments I laughed out loud and moments I cringed. The style is certainly original but possibly to the detriment of the overall work.
Personally, I hold Eggers and the rest of the McSweeney`s (or this group of 30 something New York literati) posse - [a:Vendela Vida|36347|Vendela Vida|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg], [a:Jonathan Safran Foer|2617|Jonathan Safran Foer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198683259p2/2617.jpg], [a:Nicole Krauss|2633|Nicole Krauss|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1226262662p2/2633.jpg], [a:Claire Messud|2508|Claire Messud|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1192222646p2/2508.jpg], [a:Jonathon Lethem|2980948|Jonathon Lethem|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] - in some sort of awesome esteeem and want to love everything they produce. They are an interesting and interested group of people.
I am going to ponder some more and update later.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
A fantastic read about loss and finding your footing again in life. Beautifully constructed sentence and story. I thought this was going to be about travel and meeting people but that theme was light compared to what the book was really about. Some sections dragged on but did not take away from the overall story. I'd recommend this book to those who want to think about life.
Oh how I wish I could go on a journey with the sole intention of giving away $32,000 as quickly and as randomly as possible! Yet I fear that if given the opportunity to, I would hardly be able to adventure as sporadically, emotionally and down right absurdly as the pair of friends in YSKOV!
Contrary to his first 'Heartbreaking Work,' Eggers' second work is much more heartwarming, at least at times, and in theory! His fast paced, stream-of-consciousness-like writing helps the reader fly through the pages and makes the book difficult to put down.
Contrary to his first 'Heartbreaking Work,' Eggers' second work is much more heartwarming, at least at times, and in theory! His fast paced, stream-of-consciousness-like writing helps the reader fly through the pages and makes the book difficult to put down.
This took me quite a while to finish, not sure why.
The story will stay with me though.
Do like this line:
'When you know when the weight will be lifted you can bear it in the meantime'
...except, we don't always know when or if the weight will be lifted...
The story will stay with me though.
Do like this line:
'When you know when the weight will be lifted you can bear it in the meantime'
...except, we don't always know when or if the weight will be lifted...
This is definitely now on my list of all-time favourite books.