Rating: 
Summary: Starts well but ends in a torrent of self-absorbed drivel
Review: A Work of Genius? I had read the newspaper raves and after scanning the first few pages, bought A.H.W.S.G. at a Sea-Tac airport bookstore. Big Mistake. If one skips the irritatingly cutesy prolog and begins with the main story, one quickly becomes engrossed in the sad story of the death of the author's mother. After that heartbreaking beginning the rest of the book is indeed staggering in the sense that it leads nowhere.What is the appeal of this uneven personal narrative? Perhaps the kindness and decency that pervade this work are vanishing traits in our increasingly rude society. Readers will certainly relate to Mr. Egger's touching and caring relationship with his younger brother, Toph. Kindness and novelty ...one sees a lot of that in the paintings of children. Perhaps A.H.W.S.G. is the verbal equivalent of a child's painting. In that case, Grown-ups Beware. You'll find little of interest here.
Rating: 
Summary: This is homework for a class
Review: From the get-go of Dave Eggers' obvious parody of Middlemarch, the parallels between the main character (egotistically named 'Dave') and the characters of the Garth family are quite evident. Dave is the hardworking, salt-of-the-earth type, he takes good care of himself and his orphaned brother, and despite his rampant unprotected sex and adventure trying to get onto MTV's "Real World", he emerges as a morally sound person. This contrasts well with the image of his sister, Beth, (also named after the author's own sister), who is blatantly a reproduction of the beautiful swan-necked mayor's daughter Rosamond, and also as selfish and materialistic (she takes their father's car, the most expensive in the family, and sells it to buy a JEEP). I think that overall, the book is entertaining, but I was saddened by the lack of ska music and marijuana smoking--if you're someone like me, and I know you are, you'll have a far better time reading _Goats_ by Mark Poirier.
Rating:
Summary: Self Absorbed? No, Just Truthful.
Review: For the individuals who do not have a sense of humor, don't read this book. This isn't a book that relates to Generation X, or for those individuals you spend most of their time thinking they know something when in actuality they know jack squat. All I'm saying is that the book is laugh-out-loud funny and should be praised for being in existence. Personally, I have no actual factual evidence for why this book was created, so I won't guess why Mr. Eggers writes this story the way he does, but I know that this book has a uniqueness of its own. Personally, I think the book is well written and it gives the reader the chance to gaze at life's absurdity. So, if you are a person that needs to be inspired then forget it. Mr. Eggers writes with glaring honesty about the death of his family, his worries of becoming a sell out, and every day life. Mr. Eggers writes on issues that lots of people deal with. The only difference between Mr. Eggers and you all, is that he has enough... so to speak to write what you think. READ THIS BOOK!
Rating: 
Summary: This is life, ladies and gentlemen
Review: A.H.W.O.S.G. mixes tragedy, humiliation, contempt and humor in a truly staggering fashion. Eggers presents the most horrific events in such a way that the reader can not help but laugh, stopping only after quite a bit of comtemplation, to feel a little bit guilty about doing so. He steps around the emotional crap that only depresses the reader, and can only be written upon later observations of an event (such as having both parents die within 5 weeks of each other)and conveys his character's situation and emotions in a brutally harsh mannor. The mannorisms of the characters as they attempt to stop their cancer-ridden mother from bleeding to death, then try to make it on their own after the death of both parents, is more real than anything I have read before. Forget the sappy feelings of remorse and overwhelming fear of the future, Egger's shows us what really happens. People do what they have to do to and suck it up (example: dumping out a dying mother's phlegm bucket), they move on, they don't always get their dreams or accomplish their goals, and sometimes, they let their dependents go out in public with a hat that smells like urine because they just don't really care. This is life.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty funny, easy read
Review: The begining of this book is a must-read for anyone with a sick sense of humor that appreciates morbid comedy. The way Eddgers describes events, as they happen to him, make the reader dare to feel uncomfortable. Although, the reader knows the situation is not one to be joked about, Eddgers does a wonderful job of finding all the humor in it. The reader is forced to catch on to the irony. As stated in the preface, the middle is a bit dull but it is reconciled by the fact that begining is so worth-while. The pure artisit talent he has of putting things so "delicately" leaves the reader chuckling at times that laughing is not appropriate. I admire the way Eddgers does not take life so seriously and is able to see the brighter side of things without being annoyingly peppy the entire time. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone needing to see a realistic view of life......and i'd recommend "Goats" by Mark Jude Poirier for anyone who is tired of reading crap books assigned by their lit professors, such as "Middlemarch". :)
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but somewhat disappointing
Review: I had a lot of expectations going into this book--some of them were met, some were not. From what I had heard about AHWOSG, I expected a book that was so funny, emotional, and amazing that I would recommend it to all of my friends. After reading this book, I'm not sure that is the case. As predicted, there were definitely parts that I enjoyed, and parts where I actually did laugh out loud. However, there were also parts that I wished I could skim through. I admire the relationship Dave Eggers built with Toph, and reading about his struggle to find a balance between brother and parent is, in my opinion, one of the best aspects of this book. However, wading through other parts of the book was often tedious, which was disappointing. Unfortunately, this is one of those books that received so much hype, that it was almost impossible for it to live up to all of my expectations.
Rating:
Summary: I only wish...
Review: I only wish that I could express myself as precisely and accurately as Eggers does in A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. At least sleep with someone who can express themselves as precisely and accurately as Eggers.
Rating:
Summary: Anyway you want it
Review: This heartbreaking work of staggering genius is a book that defines the staggering twenty-something generation--men and women staggering to find a place of genius within a society that has no place for them. Told through the eyes of a young man staggering to find a platform, this heartbreaking work forces the reader to stagger through his or her own genius in order to find meaning. Much like Mark Jude Poirier (an author of genius, and Goats) Eggers is a master of meta-fiction, and has created a story that does not simply exist, buy comments on its existence. Of course the only thing truly heartbreaking about the work is the inability of some to allow the words to stagger over them. We live in a world too willing to stagger through a book of genius, reaming nothing from the words, demanding meaning from the author. Sometimes an author is ingenious enough to create a work that staggers over tradition, and defines its meaning by its inability to define anything.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking and Genius
Review: The most accurate title to describe its accompanying work since Airplane II: The Sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Anyway You Want It
Review: This heartbreaking work of staggering genius is a book that defines the staggering twenty-something generation--men and women staggering to find a place of genius within a society that still views them as children. Told through the eyes of a young man staggering to find a place within a generation that has no place, this heartbreaking work forces the reader to stagger through his or her own genius in order to find meaning. Like Mark Poirier (author of Goats) Egger's is a master of meta-fiction, and produces a staggering story that does not simply exist, but reflects upon itself. Of course the only thing truly heartbreaking about the work is the inability for some to allow the words to stagger over them. We live in a world too willing to stagger through a book of genius, reaming nothing from the words, and demanding meaning from the author. Sometimes an author is ingenious enough to create a work that staggers over tradition, and defines itself by its inability to define anything.
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