Rating: 
Summary: Here's a ladder, Dave Eggers, get over yourself.....
Review: I wanted to like this book. No, not just like it, but love it, really, really love it, the way all the critics and so many of my peers have. I mean, it was nominated for a Pulitzer, for crying out, I expected that credential alone to promise at least some literary merit. But noooooooo.....the opening chapter held a kernel of promise, and there were a few precious witty observations along the ride, but the ride, in general, was tedious, annoying, over-long, and over-baked. Mr. Eggers does not present himself as either a genius or a sympathetic protaganist....just a pompous, whiny, pretenious poser who thinks ancedotes such as his failed interview to be a contestant on MTV's Real World are the stuff of compelling liteture. Its not surprising that he would feel a connection to "The Real World", this book is the literary equivalent of that show,...However, he does an excellent job at conveying the self-absorbtion, puesdo-angst, and contrived hipness of the 90's, simply by being the living embodient of that era. Unfortunately, the Gen-X thing did not age well, and hopefully, niether will the popularity of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: ...A Terrifying Work of Unsubstantiated Ego
Review: I was intrigued enough by the clever ramblings that precede the actual telling of this memoir. These "introductions" aren't neccessarily compelling, though one arrives at an expectation of an incredible journey by perusing evry last sentence of them. There isn't anything else. He continues to ramble on in such a fashion, that I din't even find him likable. He's so pretentious and full of himself, that I never really felt at all sorry for him. His parents died. It .... That's it. The accounts regarding his brother Toph are the only things even remotely interesting, but they made me despise the book more, because I would've rather been reading his version of life with his big brother, the pretentious jerk. This book does for prestigious book awards what Gladiator did for the Best Picture Oscar.
Rating: 
Summary: A unique and fresh voice
Review: Having read many positive reviews prior to reading this book , I was expecting a lot, and was not disappointed! The book is written in the stream of consciousness of a Gen-Xer, but can appeal to anyone (I am 40 and loved the style and content). I felt that this was a refreshing way to deliver a story and the novelty was used perfectly.As far as the story goes, it is both sorrowful and humorous and painful and energetic - at times you felt like you were actually inhabiting Mr. Egger's head. If you enjoy having to think while you read, you should enjoy this book tremendously. If you like predictable, 2+2=4 types of books, then stay way.
Rating:
Summary: Oh boy, a man who does what women have for years...
Review: Annie Lamott's "Operating Instructions" is much more compelling - if you're talking books about single-parenting. Eggers is self-serving and pompous. The book lost me early on.
Rating: 
Summary: Enrapturing...maybe...sometimes?
Review: A.H.W.O.S.G. envokes a great many emotions no matter what your opinion of the story and its author is. Our advice to potential readers is to not begin the book with any expectations. Just take it for what it is. It is very compelling and "talks" to the reader making you want to continue even as it frustrates you. You feel empathy for him for his parents death, but Eggers never lets the story get depressing. Read the preface. If that does not interess or amuse you, do not bother trying to read the book, it most likely is not for you.
Rating:
Summary: I wasn't blown away
Review: Reading through the different reviews here, you'd think this guy were Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci and Wolfgang Mozart rolled into one. Let me think of the simplest way to say this: he's not. The storyline was original, that's for sure. And his emotion is raw. He definitely has his finger on the pulse of something - although what exactly that is (misdirected youth? the refusal to accept that people usually _earn_ money?) is sometimes muddled. But the delivery is poor. I found it cutesy and contrived. He relies on the same old gag structure again and again - that one line delivered at the very end to set the last three pages' worth of diatribe on its ear: "You just missed your exit". "The wallet was there the whole time." and so on. Add that to the fact that the timeline was impossible to follow, and that the technique of alternating paragraphs between two different time periods does not a gifted writer make, and this presentation had serious flaws. Unrestrained by literary devices such as plot, he goes on to present a convoluted "three years [I think it was three years although time flow was truly warped] in the life of" stream-or-consciousness (whoops I meant "stream OF consciousness") story of his recent life. What's he getting at? Is he misdirected? Uninspired? Lazy? All of the above? Am I supposed to admire this? Is this the role-model of the 21st century? For the story to be potent, I think it needed a sharper edge.
Rating:
Summary: Can You Handle It?
Review: Whether you are interested in simple story telling, entertainment or though provoking critical analysis, this book encompasses both. I would recommend is most highly to college students and young adults looking to read a coming of age story that can be read into as deeply as you find your desire. A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius is filled with chances to investigate the life of a young man facing the challenges of raising his younger brother. I suggest this book to those who can handle unconventionality, and who are willing to think freely about the bias telling of another's life.
Rating:
Summary: From Oxford
Review: "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" serves as an outlet for the authors personal feelings. Because of his life circumstances, Dave Eggers becomes a vulnerable and honest character in his story. In that aspect, he is allowing the reader to evaluate his or her own thoughts, actions, and life. Although his short anecdotes that make up the novel are amusing, the book as a whole is not meant to be entertaining. These short outlooks on life are simply bits of the picture that the author is trying to paint.
Rating:
Summary: Unpredictable rollercoaster
Review: Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a twenty-two-year-old father? I am sure you are wondering. This is an unconventional book about two young brothers who beat the odds in a crazy world alone. You are taken on a journey from city to city and problem to problem. Eggers manages to put ever single messed up thought onto paper. If you like books that leave you asking questions about everything that this book might be the one for you.
Rating:
Summary: Just Heartbreaking
Review: The flow of Egger's book was choppy and unpredictable. Even with the obscure structure it still caught the attention of the reader. it's like a nreality TV show, it catches your attention while you are actually involved in it, but once it's over you forget about it because it hasn't touched you. The text doesn't really hold much content or transmit a point, but his situation remains understandable.
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