jazzyguy13 's review for:

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

5.0

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It's not often I laugh out loud when reading - I'll smile at a book, or kind of spasm from internal chuckling, but this book had me cracking up laughing at parts. Which is remarkable, considering it's a memoir about the author, Dave, raising his little brother after their parents have died within a month of each other from cancer. I'm a little biased in my opinion on this, since Dave is recounting his early-mid 20's, which I, preparing to graduate college, can relate to, but he manages to describe his life with both the thrill, excitement, and hopefulness of being in your 20's, along with making fun of himself for these qualities. We think of memoirs putting you in someone's life, but this puts you right in Dave's head, while occasionally turning in on himself with some meta-commentary on his reasons for writing about all of this, and the implications of it all. He is unsparing, both toward the world and himself, especially himself. Honestly, I didn't like the ending that much on reading it the first time, but I can't argue with Dave's sheer and utter fatigue towards life, his youthfulness burnt out of him. I can only imagine suggesting this one to people my age, but that doesn't make it any less amazing, and I'm sure other age groups could find plenty to enjoy in it as well.