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A review by michellearnold2
You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers
4.0
To start off with, this is one of my favourite book titles in recent memory. It's commanding without being threatening and I find its implications very poetic. Sadly, but also luckily, I suspect there will be few, if any, times in my life where it is appropriate to announce "You shall know our velocity."
But onto the book. Given the inevitability of this review going viral, I'll insert my **Spoiler Alert!** here.
I didn't start out loving this book, for a few reasons. Firstly the premise (two young guys flying around the world and arbitrarily giving out money they arbitrarily acquired) irritated me. I know it was supposed to. I know the author wasn't trying to advocate for misguided and self-serving efforts at poverty alleviation, but I found that my disinterested dismissal of their plan affected my ability to get into the narrative. Secondly, I did not relate well to the two main characters (though there is only really one main character). This isn't to say that they weren't relatable, just that they represented a demographic (young, aggressive, rage-fueled, distraught, grieving young men) that is pretty detached from my experience. For me, it was their anger that distanced me.
However, maybe this was all part of the plan. I kept on reading, regardless of a clear connection with the story, and all of a sudden I found myself in the head of someone who was going through tragic, confusing, genuine, multi-faceted emotions. And all of a sudden, I was on the same page as him and the fact that it surprised me made it all the more profound.
I think I am going to end this here. And I suppose that means my spoiler alert was all for naught. Michelle Reviews Books 2.0 coming soon with an upgrade in accuracy and insight (hopefully).
But onto the book. Given the inevitability of this review going viral, I'll insert my **Spoiler Alert!** here.
I didn't start out loving this book, for a few reasons. Firstly the premise (two young guys flying around the world and arbitrarily giving out money they arbitrarily acquired) irritated me. I know it was supposed to. I know the author wasn't trying to advocate for misguided and self-serving efforts at poverty alleviation, but I found that my disinterested dismissal of their plan affected my ability to get into the narrative. Secondly, I did not relate well to the two main characters (though there is only really one main character). This isn't to say that they weren't relatable, just that they represented a demographic (young, aggressive, rage-fueled, distraught, grieving young men) that is pretty detached from my experience. For me, it was their anger that distanced me.
However, maybe this was all part of the plan. I kept on reading, regardless of a clear connection with the story, and all of a sudden I found myself in the head of someone who was going through tragic, confusing, genuine, multi-faceted emotions. And all of a sudden, I was on the same page as him and the fact that it surprised me made it all the more profound.
I think I am going to end this here. And I suppose that means my spoiler alert was all for naught. Michelle Reviews Books 2.0 coming soon with an upgrade in accuracy and insight (hopefully).