Rating: 
Summary: An Uneven Work of Staggering Ego
Review: I bought this book based on glowing reviews in the national media, and an extensive excerpt in The New Yorker. But having now read it, I unfortunately would be inclined to retitle it "An Uneven Work of Staggering Ego." The first 108 pages are wonderful indeed, but the 267 which follow are wildly uneven, with bits of literary brilliance floating atop a Great Lake of self-indulgent rambling. At the end of the latter portion of the book, in spite of his still-obvious talents as a writer-observer, it is Mr. Eggers' towering opinion of himself and the too-often timeworn "insights" he supposedly has to share with "you millions" which left this reader "exhausted and fe[eeling] hunted."
Rating: 
Summary: Ingenius Work with Staggering Dumb Ending
Review: If ever I come across a book that defies convention, my curiosity gets the better of me and I have to read it. The problem with this tendency is that it usually leads me to a lot of bad books that I refuse to finish. Not this time. Dave Eggers' debut memoir is staggering in its style, innovations, and trials, and simply a lot of fun to read. For months I kept seeing this book eyeing me in bookstores, its corny cover displaying a red velvet drape opening across a Titian-like sky with the "egg" part of the author's name floating over the rising (setting?) sun. One day, I broke down and sent for it and began reading: (page before the title page) "This was uncalled for"; (page before the preface) "Rules and Suggestions for Reading this book: #1. There is no overwhelming need to read the preface...#3. You can skip the table of contents...#6. The book thereafter is uneven..." And then I noticed something: Eggers has written every word--the flap blurbs, the copyright page--and all of it is innovative and entertaining. The table of contents reads like a modern poem, and the 21 page acknowledgement section containing all kinds of slapsticky digressions and a key to the text's metaphors is hysterically funny. With all of the hype and presence this book has inspired, one can't help but read it. Eggers tells the true story of his parents' deaths five months apart which leaves Dave to raise his little brother Toph--the most intriguing character in the tome--and move to Berkeley, California. The best of the book is probably the truest stuff--the first few chapters wherein he discusses his family's losses and the beginning of the Berkeley section and incidental, everyday wonders like recipes he and Toph devise(such as The Saucy Beefeater and The Mexican-American War), frisbee exploits, the teddybear, the mother's lost ashes, nude photo shoots. In spite of his potential, he wanders away to his magazine exploits and some MTV goofiness and more, and it is here that the author's age starts to show-- which is why we must forgive him his lousy handling of the rest of his book. Hey! The guy is only in his twenties and he wrote and published a really innovative book full of literary tricks and flights of imagination. Even though, as the author admits in the beginning, the book just peters out toward the last third, Eggers seems bound for glory, so original, and so wise, really, for such a self-effacing clown. His heart is full of love, and he just can't hide it. That, in addition to his wit, make (almost)this (entire) book worth your while.
Rating: 
Summary: Oprah's Book Club beware...
Review: First of all, if you are the type of person who has heard "I am so sorry" or "It's not your fault" more times in your life than you can count, you will certainly appreciate the humor and nuances of this book, more so than other readers. For once in your life, you are ahead of the game. Score one point for Dysfunction! (The other team already has like, 50 points.) Ahhh..but I digress, this book is one of the most entertaining and true revelations of self-made family dynamics. Unlike most 'memoir' type novels, Egger's never uses sympathy or guilt to sway the reader's emotions. It is refreshing to have an author give you the facts and have the guts to tell you, the reader, 'Take it or leave it'. Beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed reader
Review: I found the prolougue to be the most entertaining part of this book. The author is a good writer and quite humorous, but after a while, it gets just plain boring. I found myself wanting to skip pages. However, he does look to have a bright future. If you're looking to kill time, like on a long plane trip, buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I found this book to be tiresomely self-referential, cloyinglyself-obsessed, and shot through with an irritating arrogant, knowing, ironic perspective. At bottom it is an opportunistic and wearying attempt to string together some semi-amusing anecdotes and tragic events into a money producing and attention getting full-length book. If the future of narrative storytelling from my media-saturated generational peers is this kind of cluttered, formless, overly mannered navel gazing, then that's the heartbreaking part.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: This book is not a typical coming-of-age story. Instead of growing into adult responsibilities, Dave Eggers has them thrown at him when he is forced to become his brother Toph's guardian. While I expected the book to primarily cover their relationship, I found the anecdotes about Eggers' struggles at Might magazine and his search for his parents' ashes interesting. This book got a lot of critical praise and deservedly so.
Rating: 
Summary: Needs some discipline
Review: This book has a scattershot quality to it. The author is essentially telling us his life story, but he is always digressing onto some by the way topic. Same technique used in Jacques the Fatalist and Tristam Shandy. It's a good style too. For the most part Eggers kept me interested. Moved the story along quickly. Moving in parts. But the last third of the book is repetitious, monotonous, boring, and hokey. He admitted as much though in the intro though. And his shenanigans involving Adam Rich were sick and embarassing. Parts like that really were exhibitionistic. It definately could have been better, though the good parts were different enough to make it worth a read possibly.
Rating:
Summary: Lake Forest Revisited
Review: Although a minimal read, D.Eggers does an excellent job of characterising the tribulations of an orphan destined for survival. A heartfelt beginning, but I did find most of his book mundane and rather repetitive (I'm glad the author tells us this upfront). I must admit that I am in the minority of my family members and friends that give Mr. Egger's novel a less-than-stellar review.Personally, it was an interesting trip down LFHS memory lane and wish Dave and his family the best in his recent publicity and capitalism.
Rating:
Summary: Humorous and Touching
Review: Wonderful book--smart, funny, sad, touching. Mr. Eggars is a very talented writer, probably the best new writer I've read this year. On a literary level, this book is refreshing and innovative. Depending on where you stand, it either takes itself too seriously (and even then, in a wonderfully humorous manner) or doesn't take itself seriously enough. I think it does both with great success [note to author: you have restored my faith in run-on sentences!] There is no denying that Mr. Eggars' prose jumps off the page at you and makes you laugh or cry, sometimes both at once. He is irreverent where society dictates he should be morose and penitent, such as when he describes his mother's illnes, or in his musings about his mother's ashes. But underneath his audacity lies real sentiment, real emotion. This is a guy who could have just run away or could have just gone crazy, given everything that happened to him. Instead, he took whatever came his way and moved on. He is not without his ego and delusions of grandeur, but it all contributes to a very truthful account of reality, a reality where there are no saints, only flawed people trying to make it work.
Rating: 
Summary: A young man and his hormones.
Review: I bought this book thinking that it would be about the author and his brother... Their relationship in light of their parent's death. I suppose it might be called a coming of age book, but I have to say that I quickly tired of reading about Mr. Eggers' running around. If I wanted running around, I would do it myself.
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