A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Rating:
Summary: A heartbreaking work of staggering pretension
Review: I'm a 28-year-old single mother and I bought this book because I wanted to hear the viewpoints of someone who was sort of in my position. What I got was a self- aggrandizing, vain book by a pretentious twenty-something who seems intent on showing the world what a brilliant and sacrificing person he is. If I had been as self-absorbed as Eggers, my son would have never made it out of infancy. He claimed to be so involved in his brother's life, yet at the first opportunity to gain publicity for his silly excuse for a magazine, he was willing to move out of his house, conveniently install his sister there, and spend four months filming "The Real World." And I'm sorry, but if Eggers has $10,000.00 to blow on a magazine that will most likely go nowhere, then he's got a lot to learn about real sacrifice. I'm certainly sorry I spent my hard-earned cash to support this novel of self-love. In fact, half the time it wasn't even clear that he was raising a brother, except when a mention was needed to prove what a great guy Eggers is and move the story forward. Mostly it was just drivel of the "me, me, me" variety. Give me an account of a single parent who actually lives in the REAL world, as opposed to "The Real World."

Rating:
Summary: AHWOSG
Review: I really enjoyed the read, I had to go read the preface again and the rules of enjoyment in order to put some real closure on it. I will go back and re-read some of the most powerful parts, and there are several. Dave is a guy who I both relate to and despise, and that is really a statement about myself. He vacilates from self-loathing to grandiosity with such ease that you wonder how the guy sleeps at night. This really is a book about grief, about growing up, about parents and anger and fear. It is real and poignant, it is not a doctrine, it is not a story to base your life on. His style is also not easily copied so don't try, in fact if he went to try again it would be different. Thanks to Dave, I will be recommending this book to only my most nuerotic friends and they will love it.

Rating:
Summary: original, intelligent, frustrating
Review: I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read something quite different in style and content but familiar and compelling. The book is funny, ironic, sarcastic, and touching without being predictable. It is occassionally frustrating because the irony and sarcasm can get tiring. But the author knows this and the story keeps you reading. I love this book: it isn't another sappy Oprah selection and for that I am most grateful!

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Summary: The Title Says It All
Review: ...wow...I just finished this book and can honestly say that it is truly heartbreaking and Eggers is definitely a genius. The characters are all familiar yet somehow distant. To say they are easy to relate to doesn't describe it. The best way to describe this book is that it instantly becomes YOU and all of these characters become your friends and siblings and parents. Your heart is broken and you feel the world owes you just like David Eggers does because of the tragedies and unspeakable responsibilities set on his shoulders. The world owes us all something and you owe the world to read this book. It is definitely a monumental work of non-fiction (or is it fiction?). Eggers leaves it up to you to decide how you want to read it. I loved it and so will you, I know it.

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Summary: Save money on psychiatry, write your own memoir!
Review: Dave Eggers needs therapy. Fortunately, he was able to put his innermost feelings into a book, so this should suffice. A disjointed, slightly fictionalized view of his life after his parents both die within 5 weeks of each other, this book recounts the author's struggle to make a name and a life for himself while acting as a single parent (at age 22) for his 8-year old brother. Meeting a few interesting characters on the way, of course. This book is worth the purchase price for the acknowledgements and foreword alone -- read them after you finish the rest of the book for maximum effect. Unfortunately, this book leaves little room for a sequel, so I'd like to see the author write some actual fiction next.

Rating:
Summary: so so so what
Review: Dave had a number of bad breaks, but his over wrought, over written navel gazing is mind numbing. He suffers from the need for a good, thorough editing. After reading some of his nonsense, I reached the point where I didn't even care about the tragic events in his life, but wanted to give him a good shake. His little brother needs the services of a good lawyer to get back all the money which should have been used for him, but seems to have been poured into the sink hole of "Might".

Rating:
Summary: Unique read.
Review: As a thirty-year-old male, I found myself reading this book and thinking, I have thought this way many times. I have never read a book that so sad and funny at the same time. Dave is an exceptional writer and his book is a gift. My only criticism is the lack of focus in the last 75 pages or so. I hope Dave writes more books.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre at Best
Review: I'm really surprised at how well this book is doing. Although I'm the same age as Eggers and have had many of the same experiences (although, obviously, not all - his story is rather tragic) I tired of his style of writing about halfway through. The first half, as he himself tells you at the beginning of the book, is definitely better than the rest. He just seems to descend into gimmickry as the most interesting portion of his life comes to a close. He is a gifted writer, though, and I expect we'll hear more from him in the future.

Rating:
Summary: 200 pages of pure bliss..
Review: Unfortunately, the book is 375 pages. Don't worry, it is still adequate toward the end, but the first 200 pages are nothing less than brilliant. All in all, a great read, unlike anything I've ever read, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Is this the best Gen X can do?
Review: A callow and annoying book. Eggers' relentless self-scrutiny is supposed to be charming; instead it's tedious. His desperate concern for fame and the good opinion of others is supposed to be disarmingly honest; instead it's shallow and smug. Like David Foster Wallace without the erudition; like Nicholson Baker without the maturity. Ultimately, another Douglas Copeland: here today, gone tomorrow.