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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
I loved the beginning of this book. I absolutely hated the rest. By the end I was just kind of mad at Eggers for the life he's lived and his perspective. I do, at least, appreciate his honesty about being a manipulative jerk.
In general I loathe stream of consciousness, but this was a pretty good book. The story itself is quite intriguing, so basically he had that going for him right from the start, lucky guy (haha). Perfectly captured the angst of the early twenties that I think often goes unnoticed, or eclipsed by teenager stuff. It was just self-referential enough for his faux-arrogance to be convincing and his self-effacement to be endearing. If he'd said it was a work of "incredible" genius, that wouldn't have been enough, but by saying "staggering" genius, that makes it work.
I've wanted to read this book for years & was so disappointed by it. Part 1 was hard to read because of the subject matter, but intriguing. Then it takes off at a frenetic pace, leaving the reader no room to pause or reflect. Sentences last an entire page, become exhausting and lose their point. I ALWAYS finish books, even if I'm only luke warm about them, but I decided not to waste any more of my time reading this, when halfway through, in Part VI, Eggers uses a Q&A style that goes on entirely too long. And no, I'm not a prude when it comes to unusual literary devices, I have a Masters of Literature, I was just disappointed to find how ineffective & frustrating these gimmicks were.
I really didn't want to read this book, but after a friend made me stand in line with her for an autograph for hours, I decided to read it anyway. Most of it was fine. I did see him Monday having lunch at the Coffee House.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Equal parts tender and frenetic. Agonizing and lovely. Surface dribble and heart-wrenching depth. Eggers' descriptions of grief and living after the death of loved ones are beautiful and brilliantly, for me, on point. Other times, I roll my eyes and pick out the beautiful prose from annoying machismo. I am fascinated by this book and this author and frankly am in awe.
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a memoir, but reads like a novel. A lot of what the author went through is emotionally heavy, but the book is overall quite funny. The things I liked best were that it really embodied the atmosphere of the 90's (as it should, seeing as it he wrote it then); and a lot of the thoughts the author had about social interactions, when I read them I would think, "Hey, I've always thought/done that too" but I never realized it or never was able to express it. My favorite part of the book is:
"We sing while we are making dinner. We sing regular words, words about pouring the milk or getting the spaghetti sauce, though we sing them in opera-style. We can sing opera-style, too. It is incredible." I felt that this part was totally me. Great book, completely worth your time.
"We sing while we are making dinner. We sing regular words, words about pouring the milk or getting the spaghetti sauce, though we sing them in opera-style. We can sing opera-style, too. It is incredible." I felt that this part was totally me. Great book, completely worth your time.
I finally gave myself permission to put this book down before finishing it. I got most of the way through, but truth be told I was struggling at the end and was not enjoying myself...which totally negates the point of reading anyways! It was interestingly written but I just got really lost. Certain points of this book really caught me, but others just turned me away. I didn't understand the point and in the end just couldn't keep going. I normally make myself finish, especially when I've already read 400 pages, but I had to let this one go.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I think the most spectacular part about the book is that Eggers could tell his heart-wrenching story in a way that had me crying of laughter instead of sadness. His self-deprecating humor kept me intrigued, and while many people gripe about how it was a bunch of bullshit, Eggers admits so himself in his addenda and the rules and suggestions for the enjoyment of the book.
Read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius for the entertainment, if not to experience a very particular and skilled style of writing.
Read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius for the entertainment, if not to experience a very particular and skilled style of writing.
Dave Egger's famed pomposity shines through at times, but this is still a wonderful book.