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Summary: Has It's Moments Of "Genius"
Review: I don't understand why so many people are getting so personal in their review of this book. I mean the guy lost both his parents withina year and instead of becoming a junkie or drifter he took on the awesome responsiblity of taking care of his younger brother. He points out he's no saint,just an average guy trying to do the best he can with a tragic situation. Parts of the book rambled on a lot,and the ending was,well,uh,sort of an "anti-ending" to say the least. But parts of the book were quite touching without being all gooey and overly-sentimential and some of the stuff about the magazine was laugh out loud funny.(two words; Adam Rich) and his observations of the different people he meets in SF as well. However,the pre-amble at the beginning oof the book was rather tiresome and went on for waay too long. For that reason,I'm giving this book 3 stars,instead of 4. Overall,a pretty good book that is inspiring in it's own quirky way.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the time and money
Review: This book was refreshing and a good read. Well done Dave. I've always considered myself an orphan. My parents although divorced passed away within a year of each other when I was in my early 20's. My father left behind two young sons just like Dave and his "little" brother. This was a refreshing and interesting book. So, Dave didn't discover the cure for cancer or anything like that, but this book speaks of youth and survival, and most important is the true picture he paints of the relationship between two brothers. I recommend this book. HJK
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Summary: Insight into a much younger mind
Review: I am more than three times the age of Dave Eggers when his book opens and it was fascinating and moving to see his young mind at work. I am acquainted with death and was greatly moved. I imagine those who disliked the book are closer to Dave's age and so less tolerant of a contemporary; just as I would be with the work of another senior citizen describing the world I live in. My point is that I gave him some slack and wasn't a bit bored by the Real World episode.That part, near the end, when he returns to Chicago, visits the funeral home and what followed rang so true. The description of the frisbee game with Toph caught me with its athletic grace. I have recommended this book to all my friends. I wish I could go to New York in May, 2001 when he is speaking at the New Yorker celebration and shake his hand.
Rating: 
Summary: A really good book
Review: I read a review of someone who thought that all of the ups and downs in this book were uneven. These are memoirs of a man's life. This is what actually happened to him. There was no way to control that. I loved this book. It's the best I've ever read. His writing style is really unique. He seems to throw out every single rule of punctuation and grammar there is. Yet it comes out seeming, better than anything else. He sets new standards for American Literature. It was entertaining all the way through. I don't know why anyone would think other wise.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: This books starts out well, and that's about the last positive thing I can say about it. The author, even given his situation, is a completely unsympathetic character. Why would we care about someone so incredibly self-absorbed and dull? The book goes downhill quickly from about the halfway point, and the end of the book is a disgrace. What does it all mean? Obviously nothing. I could not recommend this book to anyone.
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Summary: An unbearable work of staggering self-absorption
Review: If you are looking for yet another book by someone who thinks their own disappointments in life are worse than yours and that venting one's furious anger and bitterness on paper is not only good therapy for the writer but of interest to the vast book buying public, here is the latest installment in the long stream of books by self-absorbed gen X'ers. I think the author knew that the only way he could get away with feeling sorry for himself and claim it as literature was to mock his own writing of it. The whole thing is annoying - like having to listen to a spoiled, angry street kid in a juvenile detention center for an entire afternoon without giving in to the impulse to slap him in the face for being such a screw up and such a whiny wimp. Do you want to listen to someone else's raging murderous fantasies?...
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Summary: life's too short
Review: If I don't like a book, I still try to finish it - to give it a chance to improve or surprise. But, after pushing onward with Dave Eggers' book, skipping over much of his blah blah blah and becoming enfuriated with his self-importance, I decided that quite frankly, life is just too short to force feed myself on the most over-hyped book I've had the displeasure to come across in years. Dave Eggers is an extraordinarily arrogant, conceited, selfish, unlikeable person. How in the world could I have not realized this before I wasted my money on this book - just look at the title!
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Summary: An incredibly unique voice
Review: I think the breadth of reactions to this book are a pretty good indication that we are dealing with a completely different stylistic voice. While the sometimes confusing shifts in perspective and tone were annoying to some, I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh perspective and unique voice. Mr. Eggers writes with a glaring honesty about the deaths in his family, his surrogate parenting of his younger brother, and his struggle to find a goal in life without "selling out". There are issues and topics here that every one of us has faced, and Mr. Eggers writes about what we are afraid to say. Throughout the book, Mr. Eggers presents us with a completely new take on what is an old theme - self-absorbtion. In many self-revealing works from the past, authors veil their use of characters as merely pawns in the story. Eggers owns up to his use of real-life situations and people as story-telling devices. I found this perspective not only refreshing but intensely revealing. For readers seeking a very different style and perspective from the spate of "personal tragedy" books on the market, I think you will enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Good
Review: I expected to like this book, but I was surprised at how good the story and the writing actually is. So it turned out that I really really liked it and I'm wondering what took me so long to buy it. Of course I already liked Dave Eggers, loved Might Magazine, like McSweeney's and I live in San Francisco. That all helps. But the book is really funny and involving in and of itself. Yes, the Real World interview section goes on a little too long, but so what?
Rating:
Summary: Here is my review.
Review: There are nearly 300 reviews for this book and mine won't be the best. But I'm trying to get my numbers up, and I enjoyed this book so here it is. This book moves at the speed of thought and is an incredibly fast read (manic being the apparent word of choice). The story itself is rather plain (death, aging, parents, friends), but each aspect is looked at from many angles and the result is often a bizarre and unexpected humor. The truly funny parts are laugh-out-loud funny. The sad parts are diluted to the point that you really can't tell what is real. A great book for the late-20somethings out there that can remember being lost and floundering.
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