Rating: 
Summary: Some people refuse to recognize how good this book really is
Review: I hear from so many people that Dave Eggers is an egomaniac, full of himself, kind of a jerk. I hear it from friends at school and editors in New York. To see this book criticized so harshly on these boards amazes me, because here's the thing, this is a great book. And yes, Eggers is full of himself, yes he is an egomaniac, yes he waves his talent around like an exhibitionist with a twelve inch rod on Times Square. But it's still a great book so who cares about any of that. Eggers has taken a very sad story, the story of his parents dieing and being left to take care of his younger brother, and turned it into a self reflective, funny novel, that is still touching. That he could write such a sad book and still make you laugh out loud while reading is no small accomplishment, especially while questioning himself throughout the book, wondering if it's OK to be writing this (obviously, he decided it is). A book needs to be judged on its own merits, not on the merits of the author. In time Eggers will be universally recognized as great, like Paul Gauguin. But it may be a while in coming.
Rating: 
Summary: Too cutesy at times but fun overall.
Review: Basically, my title says it all: I found the book generally interesting and fun to read, although at times the author seemed to try too hard to be amusing and offbeat. I liked it and would recommend it; my 31-year-old son recommended it to me.
Rating:
Summary: Believe the Hype
Review: The title is tounge-in-cheek, but in fact well-deserved. A brilliant work by a great writer. Hopefully Mr. Eggers will keep them coming.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: This is a staggering work which held me spellbound right up to the penultimate paragraph. It pained me to see an almost flawless work of art so defaced by its own creator. But then, if the creator wanted to go off on an infantile temper tantrum and Vintage books wanted to publish it as is and people bought it, who cares what I think? Go buy this book. You will love it.
Rating:
Summary: It's like damn
Review: Engaging, amusing, intimate. Cleverly irreverent and unusually well-written. Eggers is a talented writer. I normally don't tell others what to do--being somewhat passive by nature-- but if I were the type to do such a thing I would start by ordering people to read this book. Trust me on this. It really IS like damn.
Rating:
Summary: Unthinkable Tragedy, Irresistible Memoir
Review: Dave Eggers's story is seismically heart breaking. In the span of 30 days both of his parents die of cancer, leaving him (age 21) and his sister Beth (age 23) to raise their 8-year-old brother Toph. Alongside the agony of these circumstances, though, Dave and his family comfort each other with a fierce and miraculous humor. Eggers the writer is immensely talented and pulls off this blend of emotions on nearly every page. After back-to-back funerals, the surviving Eggers set out for Northern California with a surreal energy and invincibility Dave attributes to a karmic entitlement. How could any more tragedy strike? At the same time, his tireless imagination invents gruesome nightmare scenarios that will befall them (Toph especially) as a result of Dave's reckless driving, irresponsible parenting, poor judgment in picking a babysitter, or plain cosmic injustice. (For the span of the book, anyway, they avoid further misfortune.) "Heart Breaking Work" strays a bit off course when Dave recounts his adventures as the founder and editor of the short-lived Might magazine, including his failed attempt to secure a spot on MTV's Real World. But his cheeky, cynical wit coupled with the frank insecurity of Gen Xer launched prematurely into parenthood makes it all great reading, off on the tangents too. Even the copyright page is relentlessly inventive. It's a poignant, optimistic story, and a masterful, literary memoir. If it makes a lasting mark, it may be for this reason: Eggers pulls you into a landscape that is, all at once, tragic, glamorous, hopeful, wise-alecky and compassionate.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: ...for what it's worth I think this book is awesome. It trails off in the end a bit and is a little self-obsessed, but it has moments that come and go and make it all worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Miserable Waste of My Valuable Time
Review: It was painful having to place a star before this review. Perhaps the one star out of five can relate to the one-fifth of the book that was worthwhile. The Real World interview was an insult to the readers whp enjoyed the beginning of the book. There should have been a warning before that chapter that stated: "The book you are currently enjoying will disintegrate into a self-absorbed rant. At no point will this prove to be entertaining, informative, or even mildly interesting." I hope that Mr. Eggers will find it in his heart to issue a written apology to the people who read the book all the way to the end. It might not be a bad idea for his publisher to issue refunds to all of us who bought the book assuming it would have some entertainment value.
Rating:
Summary: When Good People Overcome the Bad Things that Happen to Them
Review: Smack in the middle of his collegiate years, during that time when most of us were spending each day rising to dizzying new heights of irresponsibility, Dave Eggers faced the death of both of his parents within in a six-month span. Suddenly, instead of working all day and playing all night with the rest of his slacker generation, Eggers finds himself guardian to his eight-year-old brother, Toph. In his stream-of-consciousness memoir, Eggers spins a series of (often hilarious) interlocking tales that reveals many things, among them the fact that there is still time for slacking and partying and philandering, even when you're raising your little brother. And this is perhaps the message that Eggers wants the reader to hear -- life can go on in the face of tragedy. Even as he is struggling to achieve some type of closure, more than a year after his parents's deaths, he still finds time to play frisbee on the beach with his brother and found a magazine with his friends. He and Toph don't have a perfect life, and Eggers is surprizingly honest about that, but it's still quite clear that he and his brother will be just fine. And all things considered, fine is pretty good.
Rating: 
Summary: Half as long would have been twice as good
Review: Unfortunately the most compelling section of this book is the fist hundred pages or so. After that, it feels like an endless attempt by the author to assault the reader with his egomania. He is not only telling us about himself--which is after all the whole point of autobiography--but it's obvious that he spends every waking moment thinking about himself and how special and clever he is. In so doing he winds up painting a picture of a very ordinary narcissist. Yawn. There are very entertaining bits and pieces throughout, but the book desperately cries out for some serious editing and all in all the gems are not plentiful enough to make the book worth buying.
|
