A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Rating:
Summary: He Is Trying To Break Your Heart
Review: There are two distinct sides to A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: (1) The "Heartbreaking" side, in which Dave Eggers' parents both die of cancer and Dave assumes the care of his younger brother Chris, and (2) the "Genius" side, in which Dave toys the idea of conventional storytelling and the conventional memoir. The presentation of the book itself is a parody -- from the over-the-top title to the faux-inspirational red-drapery-and-sunset painting on the cover to the exorbitant preface, table of contents, acknowledgments and end notes/clarifications/apologies/addenda. Even the boring old Library of Congress page is no longer a boring old Library of Congress page. It's all an exercise in ego, sure, but aren't all memoirs supposed to be an exercise in ego?

The idea of a twentysomething writing an autobiography is pretty ridiculous and Dave not only knows it, he capitalizes on it. He knows the core of his story (the death of his parents and his premature thrust into semi-parenthood) is a legitimate tale to tell, juicy enough to lure the Angela's Ashes crowd who are eager to wallow in Dave's misery. The trick is, Dave is unwilling to completely let his audience wallow in his misery. After his parents pass in the first chapter, they exit stage right, escaping into the shadows around him, leaving Dave alone on stage to entertain the crowd. And he does his best with what he has. Except for the fact that he has to cope with the death of his parents and has the added responsibility of taking care of his younger brother, Dave leads the life of your typical twentysomething Gen Xer. Okay, he isn't typical at all -- he's gifted, educated, media savvy, comes from an upper-middle class background and went to school with Vince Vaughn. Regardless, it all doesn't add up to a life worthy of a memoir let alone a memoir worthy of media hype and Pulitzer Prize consideration.

But Dave makes it work because he knows what that Angela's Ashes crowd wants. He gives you enough about his story that you feel his pain but he doesn't give you so much insight that you feel you know exactly what he feels. A certain distance is kept and for good reason. Near the end, he all but admits he is, in some way, toying with the reader. His friend John says (or he has his friend John say) "you grew up with comforts, without danger, and now you have to seek it out, manufacture it, or, worse, use the misfortunes of friends and acquaintances to add drama to your own life" and labels the entire book mere "entertainment." So the entire book then becomes a sort of Andy Kaufman-esque joke on an audience all-too willing to plunk down $15 for a memoir of someone they had never heard of before they entered the bookstore. If you don't see it coming, or if you completely missed the tongue-in-cheek nature of the title, you may feel cheated.

Personally, I enjoyed the show. I recognized a great deal of myself in Dave (or in the "character" of Dave?) and I found the book fresh, intelligent, warm, funny, painful and even sometimes irritating. Is his story heartbreaking? Yes, in some ways, but there is so much more to the book than that. I am not convinced this book is for everyone but I do think everyone should give it a try because if you like it a little, you may actually like it a lot.

REVIEW NOTES... I stole the title of this review from a song by the band Wilco. Also, I liked Angela's Ashes. Very much.

Rating:
Summary: As profound/shallow as you want to make it
Review: I've found that you can actually read this book in two ways. You can read casually, lazily, and only focus on the self-interestedness of the narrator; or if you're open-mindeded enough, assertive enough to finish the book (because it's very long), you'll might actually realize the depth of self-interest as also being a profoundly harsh self-deprecation. In fact, a number of times his own characters criticize him for his arrogance, in his own book. E.g.: (p.424 (those who've actually read this far will know the context))

His friend, John: '...I mean, how much do you really care about me, outside of my usefulness for some kind of cautionary tale, a stand-in for someone else, for your dad, for these people who disappoint you?'

Dave Eggers: '...It's enlightenment, inspiration. Proof.'

John: 'No. You know what it is? It's entertainment. If you back up far enough, it all becomes a sort of show. You grew up with comforts, without danger, and now you have to seek it out, manufacture it, or, worse, use the misfortunes of friends and acquaintances to add drama to your own life...'

--and isn't it blatant that the writer made that scene, of his friend criticizing him, up, and that he stuggles with his own self-ridicule, examining himself from all sides, something which few books, even Catcher in the Rye, or television shows, neurotic self-obsessed sitcom characters, Friends, and reality show idols, don't do? He ridicules his magazine ridiculing the world. He ridicules his angry outbursts in the car while missing the exit on the highway. He ridicules himself for wanting to be a TV reality show star. He ridicules himself as an inept parent-- And if you look close enough, this is not really a tale of overcoming tragedy so much as it is overcoming one's own internal stuggle with such tragic events. This is a story strictly from his perceptions, with all its paranoia and persecution complexes and defiant anger--
--but oh that it should be well-written and experimental and whimsical and both silly and serious. And agahast that it should make 'UNINTERESTING' events read interestingly, cleverly, staggeringly. The impudence!--
--And a Pulitzer finalist for all that, for 'faux-interestingness', for good writing, no matter how arrogant? Hello, 'pulitzer...puleeze!' people?

Rating:
Summary: absolutely depressing
Review: What a disappointment!Reading the prelude for this book I laughed out loud several times. My impression was that Eggers was (before the actual book began) witty, clever, and deserving of the praise heaped upon him. Not so.
By chapter six I could bear no more...I had to give up. It is extremely rare that I put a book down without having finished it, but the darkness and hopeless tone of this story was intolerable. Perhaps if you're a fan of very dark humour and don't mind the ongoing focus on death, you'll enjoy this book. But otherwise, steer clear.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: One of the better (not to mention funnier) books I have read in the last year. Eggers draws you into his world, be it happy or sad, and keeps you there throughout. Definitely a page-turner & a great summer read.

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to love it, really....
Review: This was a very mixed work. I really, really, really wanted to love it, but... Well, to be positive, the first part was near genius. Egger's family situation is geniunely interesting,and, perhaps, a little heartbreaking. But in the second half, he really starts to wear on you. There's only so much Gen X self-examination one can stand. Over all the work is written very well, it's paced well, the characters are great, his story is funny, intriguing, and interesting. By the end though, and I know this makes me sound as heartless as possible, I was throwing down the book yelling, "STOP WHINNING ABOUT YOUR DEAD MOM!" Anyway...if you are you looking for a fairly easy read that is still a piece of litertaure, AHWOSG is worth the time, but it certainly isn't without it's flaws.

Rating:
Summary: What A Waste
Review: The first chapter succeeds in hitting a sincere emotional chord, but the book quickly degenerates into self-indulgent, overly flip blather. Too bad -- since it's apparent Eggers has talent and a pretty good story to tell, just not the maturity to pull it off.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth all the hype.
Review: Aside from the few humorous instances, I found this book rather laborious. The author is arrogant and just a flat out smart-alec...but that doesn't make for a good book.
I have read better.

Rating:
Summary: A Blathering Work of Overwhelming Selfabsorption.
Review: There is no "staggering genius" in this book at least up to the third or fourth chapter where I stopped reading. The only talent Eggers has is cleverly wordsmithing uninteresting events. Hello Pulitzer, did you hear me? UNINTERESTING.

Rating:
Summary: A Mindnumbing Work of Unbelievable Self Indulgence
Review: Well written, but incredibly boring. After the first one hundred pages or so absolutely nothing of interest takes place. The book is one overlong narrative that covers a brief portion of a relatively dull life.

Rating:
Summary: Not just an autobiography, an actual story
Review: The other day I was browsing in a bookstore and decided I wanted to buy an autobiography, thinking I hadn't read one in a while. Then I saw, in that section, Dave Eggers' book, and I thought, 'Oh wait, I just read that.' I realized then I didn't think of AHWOSG as an autobiography. I just thought of it as a great story, very well told.

And that's why this book is so amazing. It could be nonfiction, it could be fiction, I wouldn't care. It's fascinating for its abililty to project the feelings of youth, and I mean the REAL feelings of youth -- the invincibility, the rebelliousness, the awkwardness. Eggers honestly has a gift for insight and recognizing absurdity in himself and everyone else.

And by the way, I disliked Catcher in the Rye immensely. This book puts it to shame.