The superb, bestselling story of David Eggers's extraordinary life with his brother
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At the age of 22, Dave Eggers became both an orphan and a "single mother" when his parents died within five months of one another of unrelated cancers. In the ensuing sibling division of labour, Dave is appointed unofficial guardian of his eight-year-old brother, Christopher. The two live together in semi-squalor, decaying food and sports equipment scattered about, while Eggers worries obsessively about child-welfare authorities, molesting babysitters and his own health. His child-rearing strategy swings between making his brother's upbringing fun and performing bizarre developmental experiments on him. (Case in point: his idea of suitable bedtime reading is John Hersey's Hiroshima.) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is also, perhaps less successfully, about being young and hip and out to conquer the world (in an ironic, media-savvy, Generation-X way, naturally). In the early 1990s, Eggers was one of the founders of the very funny Might Magazine, and he spends a fair amount of time here on Might, the hipster culture of San Francisco's South Park and his own efforts to get on to MTV's Real World. This sort of thing doesn't age very well--but then, Eggers knows that. There's no criticism you can come up with that he hasn't put into A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius already. "The book thereafter is kind of uneven," he tells us regarding the contents after page 109, and while that's true, it's still uneven in a way that is funny and heartfelt and interesting. All this self-consciousness could have become unbearably arch. It's a testament to Eggers's skill as a writer--and to the heartbreaking particulars of his story--that it doesn't. Eggers comes from the most media-saturated generation in history--so much so that he can't feel an emotion without the sense that it's already been felt for him. What may seem like postmodern noodling is really just Eggers writing about pain in the only honest way available to him. Oddly enough, the effect is one of complete sincerity, and--especially in its concluding pages--this memoir as metafiction is affecting beyond all rational explanation. --Mary Park
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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" This is a beautifully ragged, laugh-out-loud funny and utterly unforgettable book."
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First Sentence
Through the small tall bathroom window the December yard is gray and scratchy, the trees calligraphic. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Through the small tall bathroom window the December yard is gray and scratchy, the trees calligraphic. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I disagree with the other reviewers - I thought this book more than lived up to the hype - unlike some other books, like 'White Teeth' - how did that win the Guardian First Novel over this? This book is a hundred times better - it utterly lives up to its title.
I've never quite read a book structured like this before - the acknowledgements themselves, as long as they are, had me in hysterics and their lightness was a brilliant contrast to the actual 'book' which within 3 pages had me nearly in tears. It's one of those literary novels which is accessible and even better funny. And the word 'post modern' does apply but, (and this must be a record) it manages to do that too without being pretentious. It's utterly readable and disgestible and will you have flicking pages. There are passages of wonderful comedy and passages of raw emotion that punches you in the gut. Amazing, quite unusual and deserves to be a big bestseller.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I had been warned the book would literally lose the plot after the first few chapters, so relished the early parts, waiting for it to deteriorate. It never did for me. I read the entire thing, notes, acknowledgements et al and loved it. Yes it does ramble but Eggers writes as he thinks which I found totally engrossing. His often subtle references to his relationship with his brother were gutting, contrasting to his aggressive, laddish, but hilarious accounts of life in his 20s. To me, the book is brave, self-conscious and was like living inside his head for a few days; which is why over editing would have ruined it. In spite of the apparent arrogance of the title, I think Eggers would be genuinely bemused that anyone had actually spent half an hour giving discussing his book on this web site. A word of advice - definitely read the notes afterwards, they put a lot of things into perspective.
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Perhaps it's the corny, self indulgent title, but all thoughts of equally corny phrases spring to mind when summing up this book - 'a book for our generation', 'the book I've always wanted to write', blah blah blah. Don't listen to the hairsplitters who whinge about a lack of 'structure'. The genius of this book (and there is some there) is that it manages to convey tragedy and pathos through slightly cynical, incredibly self-conscious eyes. Which is exactly how 'our' (current twentysomethings) generation feels - both desensitised, seen-it-all before, alert to cliche and knowing cultural references - and idealistic, hopeful. In this it succeeds where 99.9% of contemporary fiction fails. Just read it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I didn't think I was going to like it, but I was very wrong
The idea of someone who is completely unknown (at the time it was written) thinking his story is worthy of being heard strikes me as somewhat egotistical and presumptous. Read more
Published 3 months ago by BrynG
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it
Wonderful, inspiring and funny novel that does at times ramble and extend sections for no apparent reason but that is part of the charm. Eggers has not surpassed this in my view.
Published 5 months ago by D
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too much work
Eggers' unique style will make you laugh, suck you in and his descriptions of people, places and situations are witty, precise and refreshing. Read more
Published 9 months ago by JennyB
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificently moving
I loved this book. The style of writing like a garbled train of thought is just like listening to your own subconscious ( well mine anyway.. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jakimhall
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overhyped
o start off I found Dave Eggers style quite funny, the chapter with his mother dying was actually strangelly amusing (and yes I know that sounds strange) it was just the particular... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Lucybird
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read!
Excellent book!! Very originally written. Took me a long time to read, but really enjoyed it! True story of Dave Eggers who raised his nine year old brother after losing both his... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Laura82
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent read.
Fantastic book. Dave Eggers is an excellent writer and the tragic story is told in an amusing and, as the title implies, heartbreaking way. Definitely one to recommend to others.
Published 14 months ago by Jonni I
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rambling, self-absorbed and one of my favourite books
The tongue-in-cheek title says it all for me, I absolutely love this book.
I know some critics/readers can't stand it and think it's pretentious and poorly-edited, but I... Read more
I know some critics/readers can't stand it and think it's pretentious and poorly-edited, but I... Read more
Published on 27 April 2011 by HelenW
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lives up to its title
This book is incredible. The whole spectrum of human emotions linked to grief, to love and family are all laid bare in a story which is at times harrowing; more often hilarious but... Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2011 by Mr. Jp Greenall
2.0 out of 5 stars
staggeringly rubbish
I found this book to be self indulgent and annoying. The author seems to think he is the only person in the world to lose his parents, and that entitles him to act like a jerk. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2010 by Tom White
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