A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Rating:
Summary: (Bad)
Review: I read about a quarter of this book hoping it would either make sense, or possibly become even slightly worth the time to move my eyes across the page. It was a big disapointment. I have only thrown about three books in the trash, this is one of them.

Rating:
Summary: interesting, but not enough so
Review: Eggers is bursting with creativity, but he is not a very talented writer. If this were a movie, I would tell you to wait for the video. Since it is a book, I'm telling you to borrow it from the library. It is worth skimming, particularly the preface, which is actually the most interesting part of the novel, but I have a sense that this one won't be going into the annals of great literature. Eggers' voice is angry, self-absorbed, and often whiny. The book is entertaining, but you probably won't come away having learned much, and neither, it seems, has Eggers.

Rating:
Summary: You have to be a 20's something guy to like this book
Review: As a 40's something woman, I found the humor wonderful, then repetitive and ultimately annoying. Couldn't even finish the book. Did I miss anything?

Rating:
Summary: where have all the flowers gone?
Review: I was quite disappointed with Eggers' latest gardening how-to book. Whilst his magazine, Mcsweeney's, is generally brimming with helpful tips for the aspiring green thumb, his regular readers will feel quite let down by this book. I didn't learn a thing from it.

Rating:
Summary: review of a good book
Review: They say that humor is our defense mechanism for
traumatic situations. Well why not. It's better than
crying hysterically and being completely unable to
function isn't it. I know that I always try to make
light out of dark situations and that is probably one
of the many reasons that I enjoyed Mr. Eggers book so
much. While reading his book I could literally see
myself in his shoes, cleaning the half moon-shaped
receptacle, making those weird creations that only a
child would eat. It was a truly amazing experience
just to read the book.
The way that he describes things is very
original. It's like sophisticated yet very raw and
natural at the same time. He really doesn't hold back
when he recites his inner dialogue. I mean, the things
you say in your head are a lot different than the
edited versions that come out of your mouth. Being
introduced to the green fluid and the loving yet
hostile and very cynical relationship he shares with
his mother is a real eye-opener that sort of warms you
up for things to come. I too, grew up in a
dysfunctional family (I think they all are) and when
you are given a lot of responsibility at a very young
age, you are forced to grow up. It's a very scary
thing at first, as illustrated in A.H.W.O.S.G., when
Mr. Eggers is forced to be the sole caretaker of his
seven-year-old brother. Having to drop out of school
and get a temp job. He didn't ask for this assignment
but realizes that it is now his and he must fulfill
his responsibilities.
When people write books, everyone should be able
to identify with them. I, born in 1983, should still
be able to identify with Gone With The Wind. I think
that is one of the signs of a great work of art. Mr.
Egger's book is one of those books. Life is Love,
pain, happy, sad, scared, mad, etc. A biography needs
to have all of this because that is life and
A.H.W.O.S.G. is full of it. The book is humorous
because the author is humorous. That being said, I
would still probably say that the book is a drama or
very dramatic. It focuses on the hardships of a family
divided and their struggle to maintain a feeling of
longing and togetherness. They make mistakes, they
argue, they play, they cry, they do whatever they have
to do to maintain sanity. It's all part of the
experience that is being a family. The author manages
to take these feelings, these pure emotions, and put
them into words that I think even a mature fifth
grader could understand.
Something that I really enjoyed about the book,
was that he doesn't just portray the most exciting
events of that time period, but gives an equal balance
of up time and down time which allows the reader to
further sympathize, and be encompassed by this
"...Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius."

Rating:
Summary: review of a genius
Review: "A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius," written by Dave Eggers, tells the very descriptive story of Eggers life. The book begins with rules and suggestions on how to enjoy the book, basically telling the readers what parts to skip, not only the preface and table of contents but also the middle part of the book about his friends. Then he goes onto the preface, which explains certain aspects of the book. The table of contents comes next, and his acknowledgements come last, where he of coarse thanks the appropriate people, and also has diagrams, tables, and pictures.
The book starts now, and the reader is thrown into his world dealing with his mothers fight with cancer. You learn later on that his father and mother only die five weeks apart, both from cancer. Eggers is put into the role of raising his younger brother Toph, who was eight at the time. They pick up everything and move to Berkley, California. When raising his brother, he acts more as an older brother then a father, where they wrestle on the floor, show off their amazing frisbee talents at the beach, and never clean up after themselves. However, he does have to do some fatherly duties, manly dealing with Toph's schooling.
This book looks into the life of a man who has to deal with raising his younger brother, yet he is in his early twenties and wants to go out and live his life. He has to juggle Toph with his sister Beth on certain nights, so that he is able to go out.
When writing this book Eggers left nothing out. He talked about his mother decaying away on the couch, what his feeling and thoughts were about many situations, his friends and their conversations, his friend Shalini's accident and her suffering a coma, and not to mention his sexual escapades. One was with Sari, a sexologist, but was interrupted by Toph coming home.
You also see into the world of making a magazine, which was making fun of the conventional magazines. Might wrote articles like "Are Black People Cooler Than White People?" and their most famous one on the death of child star Adam Rich. Which was made up to show how someone, who was barely a celebrity anymore, could draw so much attention by his death.
The book ends with mistakes that were intentionally made. This section of the book corrects situations that were written differently, updates on what he, Toph, and many others are doing with their lives now, and clarifications of certain topics.
Overall "A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius," is a book that shows the life of Dave Eggers, his struggle with raising his younger brother, and his many concerns about what is right and wrong in life. It was an easy and enjoyable book that I would suggest to anyone looking for a new book to read.

Rating:
Summary: wow!
Review: What happens when a young man's parents both die within two months of each other from cancer and he is forced into becoming a single parent type figure? Unfortunately I am not sure what the answer to this is, but I am willing to bet that a large percentage of the time it will not be as amusing as this tale. I am of course referring to David Eggers' incredible book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, in which Eggers finds himself in the exact situation I have just described. But when you look at these circumstances, you hardly think that anything uplifting, let alone humorous, could emerge from them. Well in this case, you would be wrong. Eggers has an amazing sense of humor, which works overtime in this story of his life after he is orphaned and given the responsibility of caring for his younger brother Christopher. (Nicknamed Toph.) When I read this book, it felt like Eggers truly loves to describe personal experiences no matter how awful, embarrassing, or down right vile they might be. And sometimes he makes you laugh at the most inappropriate times, which in turn makes you fell really awful about yourself. But you get the sense that Eggers responded the same way when he was in those situations, like laughing at having spilled his mother all over the ground. There are too many of these instances to mention here, but I'm sure, if you've read the book, you know what they are. But I would like to spotlight for a moment one of my favorite scenes in the book.
This scene centers on an argument between Eggers and his brother Toph. (For information's sake, it takes place on pages 114-120. Feel free to read along.) Now this scene is one of the first instances where Eggers steps out of the narrative and comments on himself and even the book. In this scene, Eggers speaks through Toph in a cathartic sort of way. The whole thing begins with a discussion about the almost unbelievable amount of activities that occurred during that day. Right here is where Eggers stops for a moment to rip on himself. The only thing that confuses me here is whether Eggers is giving what he believes to be Toph's thoughts, or whether he is just using Toph as a vehicle for his own punishment. Either way the scene is something special. Eggers addresses all the problems he has with himself concerning that time in his and his brother's life, and he talks about his own guilt and superstitions about how people might perceive him, his fear of the child welfare agency, his lying awake to all hours of the night contemplating the justice he will seek if anything should happen to Toph, and even the basic structure and reasons for writing the book. This last one is one of my favorites. He has Toph say, "You're completely paralyzed with guilt about relating all this in the first place, especially the stuff earlier on. You feel somehow obligated to do it, but you also know that Mom and Dad would hate it..." (pg. 115) I would have to say that this is the first time I have ever read a book that commented on itself. Well it is also the first book I've read a book where the author openly attacks himself. So, two firsts. But it's not just this that makes this passage so wonderful. It is the interaction between Eggers and his critical self in the form of Toph that brings out the character in this scene. There are numerous other scenes that contain this quaint sort of magic so I encourage you to read this book immediately.
In the end, you feel as though Eggers finally, in a sense, got it all out, even though in real life he might still be deeply troubled. (I can't really say because I'm not a close friend.) But in terms of the book, Eggers has appeared to drain himself for the reader's sake. I mean, the last paragraph is him offering himself up to whomever will take him. He wants the reader to have all of him, and he willingly gives it. This requires tremendous confidence, which is something this book has an ample supply of. In closing, A.H.W.O.S.G. is an amazing piece of writing. Everything from the structure to the language to the pure passion Eggers seems to have towards life and living make this a truly unique and powerful work that I encourage everyone to experience.

Rating:
Summary: Eggers holds back nothing...
Review: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Dave Eggers is one of the most talented authors of his time. He took his own life story - tragic as it was - and turned it into a brilliant novel that not only entertains, but makes the reader think about the way one's life can twist and turn.
The novel starts out with Eggers and his family residing in the family's home, taking care of their dying mother. Their father had already passed away from cancer, and the family was fighting hard to keep their mother, who also had cancer, alive. After Eggers mother passed away, he was given the responsibility of taking care of his 8 year old brother, Christopher.(a.k.a."Toph") Eggers views this responsibility as a challenge, and he tries his best to raise Toph in a somewhat normal environment. However, being boys at the age of 8 and 22, and not having any higher authority to listen to, their house is constantly trashed and their belongings are hardly taken care of.
Eggers takes Toph to school and baseball practice and begins to adopt the mentality of a parent. When Eggers leaves Toph with a babysitter one night, Eggers can not relax while he is out. The whole time he is with his friends, the only thing that he can think about is Toph. Crazy thoughts start racing through his head, and he convinces himself that Toph has been injured by the babysitter, or even worse, murdered. Eggers writes about this type of worry in a way that makes the reader completely sympathize and relate to his situation. He dictates every thought that is going through his mind - and he does this without separating the sane thoughts from the insane. As the reader, we think that some of his thoughts are completely off the wall, but if we were ever in the same situation, we would more than likely think along the same lines.
Eggers did not just use this tactic of writing in that one particular situation; he wrote this way about everything in his life, so that the reader would constantly know everything he was thinking. I believe that he used this style of writing so we, the readers, would feel connected to him and would relate to him in an more personal way. When the reader feels that they are getting all of the information with nothing left to hide, it makes them more interested in what they are reading.
Overall, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was truly the work of a literary genius. Dave Eggers wrote this book with confidence, and even though the momentum of the story decreases after the first 200 pages or so, it is an overall work of art. I recommend it to mature audiences and to those who enjoy getting to know the author of a book on a more personal, emotional level.

Rating:
Summary: this book was uncalled for yet amazing
Review: There are only a few times that you read a book and it grabs you from the first page, strike that, from the page where it says, "THIS BOOK WAS UNCALLED FOR" and then proceeds on to pages that contain the rules for enjoying the book. When an author has that kind of sense of humor and you haven't even gotten to the real story, I know that I not only want to, but also need to read the book. The title was even daring and by the end really fitting.

After reading the preface and acknowledgements I simply tore into the chapters. I had never read anything that I related to so much. Dave Eggers tells what everyone is only thinking. It is this honest approach that really brought me into this story. I could tell that every event was true to life, except of course what he already said had been modified, and because of this honesty my thoughts and feeling were brought to the surface. The shows he watched with his mother, I watched with mine, and the description of her cancer was what I experienced to a degree with my aunt. The debates and the worries were there and this is the first time I had ever read an account that didn't glaze over the hard topics.

As Eggers deals with the hard subjects his comments lead to an almost paranoid state. He is worried that others know. He says, "Some people know. Of course they know. People know. Everyone knows. Everyone is talking. Waiting." He knows that others know about his family but seems worried about what they are thinking. After his parents deaths this comes back when he is taking care of Toph. He is worried about what people think of his guardianship. He never seems to be completely happy with himself. These doubts and worries are things that I have thought but never had the guts to talk about. I mean who wants to say that they aren't embarrassed but conscience about others thoughts on their family and life?

At one point in the book Eggers little brother Toph seems to take on this alter ego and tells Dave what is really going on his life. It really seems to be what Eggers is thinking but played out through the mouth of Toph. The conversation doesn't seem to be in the same mentality for Toph throughout the book.

Another interesting part of the book is the MTV interview. This section is really just a loosely strung together series of stories about Eggers childhood. Some are endearing while others tell the disturbing truth that we like to hide. In one part of this interview he is asked about dying with dignity. He says, "What's dignified about dying? It's never dignified." In this interview he tells the truth about his family and their secrets that might not have been so secretive. He says, "I was born of both stability and chaos. I have seen nothing and everything." The lessons you learn aren't about something that you might use "when you grow up" they are about your life because of how his life mirrors your own.

Rating:
Summary: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Review: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Dave Eggers

This book is unlike any other I have ever read before. Eggers mixes utter tragedy with humor, something like one would find in a fiction novel. The events that occur in this autobiography seem like they could never happen, however Eggers shows vividly how he has had to cope. These events seem to be straight out of a fiction novel, happening to a fictional character, because one does not wish to think that this could possibly happen to them.