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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
This is one of my favorite books. Eggers goes through the challenging upbringing of children who lose their parents at a young age.
adventurous
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My second time reading this book left me feeling even more invigorated by it and perplexed by it and in love with it than my first reading.
I am not sure what to think of this book! Although I wanted to know what would happen, the story made me nerveus at many points and it didn't really grip me.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I keep on giving Eggers chance after chance and I’m continually punished for it.
Tragically wonderful. Will make you outrage at society, but want to do something good to help us all along. Felt like I was finally reading my own thought process in print. I loved his writing.
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this a lot. I would hazard a guess that some people might find the writing style... pretentious, maybe? But to me it felt very grounded and relatable. I don't think I would have enjoyed the book half as much if I had felt that the book was taking the main characters seriously -- I didn't, so it was easy to read this and just be like "oh, you goofs" all the way through. And I think that's a valid reading? For one, the point of view is presented multiple times in Will's internal dialogues that they are being condescending and reckless in their mission. I deeply empathized with all the anxiety surrounding all the travel involved in the plot, but just short of the point where I felt upsettingly anxious about it myself, it hit a real Goldilocks area with that. I will say, I did not read the version with the Hand chapters and from the sounds of them I'm glad I didn't. As I think I mentioned in my impressions of Life of Pi, I don't like "oh btw it was all a dream/hallucination/whatever" twists, I think they're lazy and deeply unsatisfying. But for whatever reason, I don't find it as challenging as I thought I might've to just write off the Hand chapters as not being "canon". To me, they sound like writer's regret, and I don't accept them as part of my experience of the story. I enjoyed all the exploration of how to engage in charity and preserve the dignity of the recipient and the giver, since that is something I think a lot about. I agree with Will's mum that they (or at least Will) approached the task with too much judgement and condescension but I appreciate that the book raises the question without necessarily feeling the need to answer the question explicitly, instead letting the reader puzzle it out. I also selfishly wish that they could have stuck around to see how the whole treasure map thing turned out, because that's an amazing idea, but I understand why they couldn't.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Funny and touching, this story of travel and mourning and friendship was well worth reading. One sentence stood out as a call to action.
"I couldn't think of anything I'd done in six months that brought me anywhere new or proved in any way I'd been there, that I'd been taking air from the world and using it to any justifiable end."
"I couldn't think of anything I'd done in six months that brought me anywhere new or proved in any way I'd been there, that I'd been taking air from the world and using it to any justifiable end."
Everyone our age loves Dave Eggers. I don't. I tried to read another one of his books (I last read [b:A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius|4953|A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius|Dave Eggers|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H215HG0ML._SL75_.jpg|42857] a while back and hated it. I didn't even finish this one.