A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Rating:
Summary: The Real Thing
Review: Dave Eggers is a craftsman with a precise control of language--and he's an acrobat wearing a funny hat. The last sentence under the author photo is worth the price of the book. A.H.W.O.S.G. combines (at least) Steve Martin humor, Strunk and White elegance, perfect timing, nuance, and omission of what a good reader already knows or is beginning to feel. My guess is that he worked very hard to make it look easy. His editor deserves credit in allowing him to follow his heart and pen. And, finally . . . some funny metafiction.

Rating:
Summary: PROBABLY unlike anything you've read recently or maybe ever!
Review: This experience -that's the only way to refer to it- is a GREAT way to spend a couple of afternoons when you should be attending to other matters that seem more important. I loved the memoir satire, all the extras in the preface and acknowledgements and of course the story itself. There just aren't that many laugh out loud books around. I look forward to Mr. Eggers' next book.

Rating:
Summary: Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Medicine Go Down
Review: If you want to write a heartbreaking memoir about your parents' deathsand also comment in a meta-memoir way about the futility of writing astherapy, you'd better be funny, or the whole thing will turn outtedious. Eggers succeeds brilliantly. Reminds me of Lolita, byNabokov..., in that ...these books are exceptionally funny whileaddressing difficult issues -- and I absolutely loved all three.

Rating:
Summary: every once in a while a book comes along...
Review: every once in a while, a book comes along that knocks you off of your seat and on to the sunbleached rug under the bay window in your parent's living room. this is that book. i couldn't put it down. it was as if the book was glued to my hands. i finished it in an hour and took it everywhere for days. when i saw someone i knew, i held it up and made them swear to read it as soon as they could find it. whatever you do, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A NEW J.D. Salinger
Review: This book is funny, heartbreaking, and wonderful. I couldn't put it down. I would tell EVERYONE to read it. 25 years from now, EVERYONE will be reading it in school. Mark my words.

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking but Disappointing
Review: I read a review of this book and based on the excerpts and reviewer's comments, I thought I would love it. Ironic self-reflection is right up my alley and Eggers seemed to have a real writing spark. While the book has promise and is worth reading, I thought it lacked consistency and could have benefitted from some thoughtful editing (it reads as if no one edited this book, not even Eggers himself). Scenes with Eggers and his mother are compelling. But they get lost among scenes with Eggers's other family members and his friends, scenes that I thought lacked depth and insight. I basically had no interest whatsoever in Eggers's relationships with his siblings (which is terrible since 1/2 of the book is about him and his younger brother). And Eggers's friends appeared to serve no purpose other than to allow Eggers to drone on and on about himself. It really is like reading someone's unedited diary - parts of it are juicy, thoughtful, and worth reading, while other parts are tedious and boring. After about the first 1/4 of the book, I found myself skipping entire paragraphs. Which gets back to the editing thing. Why didn't someone edit this down to a reasonable length?

Rating:
Summary: An interesting read
Review: Outside of the Gen-X archness and solipsism (much of which I just scanned or even skipped, though some of it is rather sociologically enlightening), A Heartbreaking Work is a sometimes touching and diverting quick read. I wonder how the author will feel about the book when he's mature, but I do hope he will learn to discipline his intellect and talent so that he can make greater contributions.

Rating:
Summary: Just when you think he's losing it...
Review: ...he turns it around and you're laughing in delight. Bloated? Self-indulgent? Sure, and I mean that in a GOOD way. This book is like a long car ride with a neurotic friend. Just when you want to jump out the door at 60mph, he does something dazzling and you're hooked again. Wonderful writing, very funny. A joy.

Rating:
Summary: Juvenile at best
Review: In the lengthy and tedious introduction (chock full of thirteen-year-old-type humor), the author urges readers to skip over certain less-well-crafted passages of the book. Take his mock-humble advice and skip the entire thing. This memoir is neither heartbreaking nor staggering and most definitely not a work of genius. You will find a much better exploration of family life in David Sedaris' NAKED and a much more truthful look at how illness affects our lives in THE RED DEVIL: TO HELL WITH CANCER AND BACK.

Rating:
Summary: A heartbreaking work of staggering genius
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I literally laughed out loud several times, especially when our hero is entertaining very sick thoughts about the babysitter. As a mother, I have had those very same thoughts and more. How could I be such a monster and leave my son with that freak? I honestly think the memoir lives up to the title, my heart broke more than once and not just for Adam Rich. I also grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and recognize the truth in his description of Lake Forest. This book is such a treat, I devoured it in 3 days and now I'm sorry it's over.

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