Rating: 
Summary: Compelling, deep and ironic, with a lot of humor throughout.
Review: Mr. Eggers allows us to visit his mind, which is sometimes rambling, sometimes very funny, and always very deep. This book is unlike any book you have already read. If you are over 50, you may not be able to appreciate a 20 something who, as one review said is "wise beyond his years". What effect does the death of one's parents (within 32 days of each) have on a family? How about a 20 something young, bright but immature man, who has to raise his 8 year old brother after their parents have died? This makes for very compelling reading. Mr. Eggers is always aware of his reader and though he sometimes panders to the reader, he forces the reader to become intimate with him, because he puts the reader in his brain and allows us to hear his thoughts. He is poignant in the passages, of which there are many, about his mother. His family, before the deaths, lived in true mid-west suburbia. But the Eggers family was not a traditional upper-mid-class suburban family. There are secrets which are revealed throughout the book. This is one of those books that you "should" read because it really is groundbreaking. Whether Mr. Eggers can ever deliver another book of this magnitude remains to be seen. This book may well define the early 00's much as Portnoy's Complaint and Catcher in the Rye defined their eras. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: An Ideal Genuine Man
Review: In an era where doing for 'me,me,me' has beome the golden rule, Dave Eggers has shown us strength in adversity. Dave Eggers has learned that to be a man you must act like one. Wearing the outward appearance of the hip gen xer, Dave Eggers does battle against the outsiders who would make him pitiful. He cares for his brother and fears for him. Dave Eggers is kind, generous, and loving. He's also selfish, rude, and paranoid. In other words, Dave Eggers is human. This gifted writer bares his soul and mind to us. I love Dave Eggers and I thank him for showing how to overcome heartbreaking adversity by being a real, genuine, and courageous person.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the naysayers
Review: I don't know what it is about my nature, but I always feel more compelled to post a review when I see the need to counteract the opinions of others. Despite what some readers below have written, this book is hardly overlong. It doesn't even reach 400 pages; and great books shouldn't have length limitations. Also, anyone who feels there is no emotional connection in this book simply doesn't process their emotions through neurotic behavior or defensive humor. If you do either of these things, raise your hand. Now read the book. It is a treat, and to the reviewer who wonders how Eggers will feel about the book when he's older, I say that it's a ridiculous question. We're talking about a writer who already is mature and influential, not a child posting poems on the refrigerator door.
Rating:
Summary: A Groundbreaking Story of Staggering Proportions
Review: Why did it take so long for one of us to just sit there and share our life story with the rest of the world to read? Probably because it's not part of a human nature to unveil the most dispirited experiences; while sharing and reveling in the most extreme and most putrid habits of one's personality. Eggers breaks all the grounds with a writing style reminiscent of a book review from New York Times. At other times, his style is comparable to the usage of a language of a high school drop-out, without ever losing any of the story's emotional sensuousness. This is brilliant writing, as Dave bears his soul and produces probably the most honest piece of work ever created, by a human, about human nature. Astonishingly heartbreaking, spectacularly sincere and insatiably funny. Dave is THA MAN!
Rating: 
Summary: Not staggering, but darn good
Review: First, some advice: read the text of the book before you read the front matter. The story itself never recaptures the manic, unrelenting wittiness of the acknowledgments, etc. (which is a good thing), and the segue from the humor to the description of his mother's death is, um, a bit jarring. I liked the book best during its sincere, unguarded moments and frequently felt that the humor and wry self-deprecation were covering for real feelings that would have made for a more interesting read. Cleverness and talent are two very different things (and I think Eggers has both), but the cleverness was more apparent here.
Rating:
Summary: re: viewing the heartbreaking work of staggered genius
Review: Dave Eggers' __Staggering Work of Heartbroken Genius__ appeals to the curiously morbid reader. Breaking his book into chapters, the antidotes each chapter describes follow a theme that acts as a thread to bind the broken chapters back together. Eggers' book reads the filler with the heartache of a story. It is a tale of triumphing pain that overcomes love. It is a story of love's power relationships in full bloom. An epic, novel idea pressed in prose. He writes like a child with mind on substances foreign to most people. The staggering result: a plausable book that leaves the reader heartbroken.
Rating:
Summary: An accurate and disturbing desciption of life in Lake Forest
Review: First a little background. When my husband and I had only lived in Lake Forest a couple of years, I heard about the deaths, within a month or so, of the parents of a young boy in the neighborhood. Both died of cancer and the boy was the only one left at home. He had 3 older siblings that were all out of high school and either away at college or ensconced in careers. I didn't know the family at all, but I was devastated by the news (I had only a toddler and a baby at the time) Over the next year I asked people I knew what happened to the boy. Even those who knew the family had lost touch. I thought that was terrible and never forgot it all these years. My reaction when I first heard of this book was "A-HA! I know who this is! " It's absolutely one of the best memoirs I have ever read. What is most striking is the description of our white-bread upper class town. It is right on the money. (though I'm sure most Lake Foresters will be highly offended) But as a minority in that town (working mom and Catholic to boot), I applaud Dave Eggers for exposing himself and us. And I want to be the first from Lake Forest to highly recommend this funny, heartbreaking, ironic and highly introspective book. Funny thing is, I've mentioned the book to a few people who knew the family and NO ONE knows about it. You can bet if a local became a movie star or a prominant (Republican) politician, he or she would be a major local celebrity and everyone would claim to know them. Oh, well, I'll get off my soap box now. Please don't use my name--I still live in this town.
Rating:
Summary: Eggers Staggers
Review: I was entertained by the book over all and enjoyed it. HOWEVER. Eggers pretends to be very honest and forthright, but avoids talking about the important relationships in his life, to wit: *with Toph, especially, (surely he is a bit resentful that he has to care for this kid? Sometimes?) * his sister * his right-wing brother * his girlfriend ETC. After reading 300 pages or so, we really have no idea what these people are like. We have no clue at the outset why he is the one who takes care of his brother rather than one of his older siblings. We have no more insight into this pretty central issue by the end of the book, either. Another example: we have no idea why he breaks up with his girlfriend. At the end of the book, it seems like maybe the book is supposed to be about his relationship with his parents, but we don't even have a great feel for them by the end. He spends much too much time self-obsessing, and that may be ok for a recently-traumatized, somwhat immature 20-year-old, but it doesn't make for very interesting reading. I was reminded of another book about death and caring for children that is more truthful, more compelling (and funnier!): Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott. Also, he has the gall to insult SF.
Rating:
Summary: his heart is pure
Review: He says he is an orphan of America. That his life is "..some terrible machine, where only the expected passes through." Dave, writes as if he is sending you a letter, letting you in on the latest happenings in his life. It's like talking over coffee...He holds nothing back, even his secret scenarios, his thoughts, his foul language at times...it all comes together to create something real. If you are a S.F. local, this book is a MUST read!
Rating:
Summary: A Really Really Interesting Book
Review: This book was really, really interesting. I enjoyed it. Dave Eggers is an intriguing fellow. His life story is unbelievable. I couldn't believe his life story. He's been through alot. He has alot of feelings and he made me feel alot of them. Dave Eggers kicks! He writes books that are really interesting.
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