Rating: 
Summary: Astounding!
Review: When I started reading this book, I thought that the preface and acknowlegements were just about the funniest things I had ever read in my life. I laughed out loud so many times that the people around me on the airplane kept leaning over to see the title of the book. Then when I got to the first chapter, I settled into reading one of the best stories ever about: life, death, love, responsiblity, yearning, and success. Even though some of this book discusses a very particular generational attitude -- Generation X in the mid-90's -- I think that anyone of any geneneration will enjoy this book because it, more importatnly, deals with universal themes, and because the writing itself is so great. This must become an OPRAH pick! I know it's horrible to say, but I ENVY Dave Eggers! I was jealous that he had this story in him without having to concoct a tall tale. I was even more jealous that he could hang out and play with his little brother, eat whatever they wanted, never clean up, start a humour magazine just for fun not for profit, sleep with Sari Locker, and then write a book about all of it in some of the best prose that I have read. It seems like his life was made by the fact that his parents died. But then whenever I'd feel jealous of him, I'd realize how sick that is. He completely involved me in his story, to the point that I wanted to BE him, then he slapped me in the face for feeling that way. He is an incredibly great writer! Before I had finished reading the book, I knew that it was going to become an instant best seller and a classic...not only because it is such a skilled work, but also because I had told half the people on the plane that they must buy this book. Everyone who reads it must be telling so many people to buy it. That's how I heard about it. You must buy it and read it. One more thing: when I was finished reading it, I decided to read the terrific preface and introduction again, because they were so funny; then I could not believe it, but I started reading the whole book again! I have never in my life read a book twice in a row. With this book, it is unavoidable. You will too. Enjoy it. Oh, yeah, the following sentence will surely become a much quoted classic line to anyone in the know (and even more so, when this book is made into a movie). Here is a drawing of a stapler.
Rating:
Summary: Kid - You're Gonna Be a Star!
Review: Imagine Dave as the bright-eyed young ingenue in a Busby Berkely movie. The star can't go on and Dave, eagerly waiting in the wings, is approached by the anxious producer: "Kid, you're goin' on - now knock 'em dead." Like a solid trouper, sure enough, Dave does. In AHWSG, Eggers is dancing as fast as he can and you can't help but feel the footlights popping on in your head as you read this wry, sweet, sad - and always self-conscious - memoir that Eggers fills with the expansive energy of a one man performance. It's a genuine star-turn that also happpens to be good literature. The question you'll be left asking: when does this guy tour?
Rating:
Summary: If you only read one book this year.....
Review: Read this one. It is one of the most engrossing, entertaining and enlightening books I've read in a long, long time, and at the same time it is a veritable treatise on the fine line between truth and fiction. Eggers is one of the most honest, unsentimental and yet engaging writers I've come across. You will laugh, you will cry, you will think a lot, you will resolve to live your life more fully, and you'll wish you could write this well!
Rating: 
Summary: Modern Maturity at age 21
Review: Finally someone captures the combination of pain and unbridled "gee-whiz, I can really do anything I want now" experience of having both parents die before you're fully formed. I've been waiting for ten years to read this book. His own exploitation of his circumstances and peoples' exploitation of him ring excruciatingly true. On one hand, his life sucks. Everyone says, "I'm sorry" to him. On the other hand, he's been freed to reinvent himself anyway he wants, the rest of us be damned. Kudos to Eggers for turning what could have easily become a syrupy Hallmark Presents Movie of the Week into an attack proof read... Or something approximate to that.
Rating:
Summary: Dave Eggers: Heartbreakingly talented
Review: I'm certainly not of the MTV generation, more like the AARP generation. This book cuts across generational lines with witty, profane, touching prose. The last few pages left me literally breathless. I'm going to pass this book around. But not before I read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Pace yourself...you'll be sorry when it's over!
Review: I can't express how much I love this book. The acknowledgements alone were enough to win me over. As much as I hate the cliche I'm about to use, Dave Eggers is wise WAY beyond his years. He mixes the most tragic emotional events with a perfect punch of sarcasm and self deprecation. Overall, the book is impossible to do justice to with a measly "review". So I realize perhaps I'm not being helpful. Sorry. But here are two possibly helpful tidbits: I'm a big fan of David Sedaris, using him every semester in creative nonfiction writing classes, and I think Eggers' book may be the required text next semester; also, I read this book during a three day bout with the new and improved Killer Flu, and though my energy level was that of a banana slug, I could not stop reading. I wish I could induce aphasia and read it fresh.
Rating: 
Summary: Bitter, Sad, Self-Obessed, Humorous....but not quite genius
Review: Frankly, I felt this was a heartbreaking work of staggering genius that sputtered and stopped just shy of greatness. The first half of the book was brilliant. The middle was torturous. The end (being that it followed so closely after the agonizing middle) just didn't feel as captivating anymore. I disagree, however, with the reviewer who criticized Eggers for not caring about his mother and sister. There is tenderness and profound sadness there, you just have to perceive it underneath the facade Eggers constructs. His brutal portrayal of the death of a loved one and the complication of family relationships afterward is, perhaps, too much for some readers. I found it to be honest (probably the most honest aspect of the book). That said, I recommend this book to those with an open mind, an appreciation for ironic humor, and a tolerance for an unconventional approach to writing. It was mad. It was refreshing. But it was just a little too unedited to live up to the title completely.
Rating:
Summary: Don't go looking for something the genre shouldn't provide.
Review: Many of the people who previously reviewed this book mentioned a lack of coherent plot. The thing is, that our lives are not specifically plotted, and no matter how the author of an autobiography might try to arrange their experiences into something that resembles a plot, there are simply events that don't fit in to the formula. Dave Eggers has included those events in his book instead of leaving them out for convenience's sake to present an honest portrait of a life. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is, by far the most candid autobiography I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Must Voice My Opinion on this great book
Review: I must differ with the opinion of the previous reviewer and the opinion of many young readers as a whole. The argument that Eggers earned millions from this book -- and that therefore this book must somehow "deserve" that kind of money is silly. Let's put all the money Eggers earned aside. True, it's a freakish amount for a young author, but let's let it slide.
The book. Anyone looking for a "point" won't find one because this is not a puzzle, it's a sustained leap of literature, in which human relationships (Eggers to his brother, Eggers to his friends, etc.) and the issue of mortality (in depicting the crippling deaths of his parents) is explored. Literature is an exploration, not a mathematical equation with simple answers. Any one looking for simple answers should stick to science.
The writing. The writing in this book is simply gorgeous: funny, fluid, far-reaching, energetic -- it's a joy to read -- symphonic: page after page. Other arguments "of compression" shouldn't apply; it's simply a question of style. Opera singing vs. pop stylings. It's simply a different approach.
And for the record: yes, I've also read The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition, which is in fact amusing, romantic, lively and fun -- but it's certainly no Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius! That's my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunned and Disappointed
Review: Coming off a decent, no-hype novel called THE LOSERS' CLUB: Complete Restored Edition, my expectations were even higher for this famous corporate-published/promoted "cult" hit, A HEARTBREAKING WORK by DAVE EGGERS. Now, before even picking it up, I must admit I've read all kinds of stuff about how Eggers earned 100 grand upfront to write the book, then was given (count 'em) TWO MILLION DOLLARS for the film rights, etc.
Man, I'm stunned! This book is the most long-winded, least substantial novel I've read in a long time. I thought: HUH? The "youthful" tongue-in-cheek IRONY on every page, pages and pages where Eggers seems to start into a scene, then never finishes it. It really wore me out! Again, after reading THE LOSERS' CLUB where the author, Perez, mastered the art of COMPRESSION, fitting into two pages what Eggers needed 80 pages for -- I was truly disappointed!
The core of the story, which is about the relationship between his younger brother and him -- was fine. Except: halfway into it Eggers simply forgets it, then begins to digress, which leads to more digressions. Man, all the hype and corporate publicity aside, this guy (it turns out) has really very little to say. He reminds me of the Richard Gere character in the film CHICAGO, who keeps tap dancing to distract the jury from the truth: basically that he's full of sh*t. On an on, this book floats - with no end in sight. And no point, either.
It just goes to show you the current state of literature -- when some well-connected snot like Eggers can earn MILLIONS from this bloated, rambling psuedo-book, and other, much better, authors don't even a penny.
Hey, that's just my opinion. You may disagree with me or get sucked into all the non-stop corporate bullsh*t publicity this book has received -- and continues to receive. I was just truly disappointed in this so-called "masterpiece" - and needed to vent my opinion. Read THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition for yourself and tell me if that totally obscure novel isn't at least a soulful and heartfelt expression from a true artist, non-existent publicity campaign notwithstanding.
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