A Book a Week - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Book Sixteen of the Book-a-Week Quest

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

by Dave Eggers (2000)

There were parts of this book (based on true events) that I loved...the relationship between the author and his younger brother, whom he has to watch over after both their parents die within the span of a little over a month, was particularly engrossing and felt quite real. The thoughts of Dave, a guy in his mid-twenties, were similar to thoughts I would have, so I guess that helped me relate. His relationships with his mother, father, and other brother and sister also resonated.

But, when the story shifted to Dave's friends and work, I just didn't care at all. It was in those moments that he seemed incredibly full of himself, callous and uncaring, and, for lack of a better word, kind of a prick. I mean, hey, if that's the way he really is/was, so be it, but it didn't make for interesting reading.

The writing style was incredibly readable (for the most part...there were times where I thought that Eggers was simply showcasing various funky writing styles for the sake of shoving them in the reader's face). The breaking of the fourth wall (a device that I hate most of the time in movies) works incredibly well here. This "trick" could've gotten old really quickly, but Eggers uses it sparingly enough. And I saw quite a bit of similarity between this and The Things They Carried, in that both make you question what is true and what the author has made up to simply bolster his own thoughts/vision about what the book "should be about."

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I was able to. Now, I didn't dislike it in the least, and at this point in the Quest, it's definitely got a placement in the Top Ten (if not Top Five), but the book only worked in parts, not as a "whole," for me

Interesting Side Note to those who have read the book and feel some connection to the "characters" -- Dave's sister, Beth, a strong presence in the book, committed suicide in 2002. I read that, and for some reason, it made me feel kind of sad. I guess Eggers did a better job of making me connect with his family than I thought.