Shannon's review

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
by Dave Eggers

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4953.A_Heartbreaking_Work_of_Staggering_Genius?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H215HG0ML._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4953.A_Heartbreaking_Work_of_Staggering_Genius?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3371.Dave_Eggers">Dave Eggers</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/808424?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars The book isn't simple- it's complex, and powerful, beautiful, hilarious, and above all: is feels utterly sincere.
 
 Obviously the title is hyperbolic.. but it's not completely ironic/innacurate either..
 
 Eggers has a great little thing about Irony/the title being ironic/the book being ironic.. in the added section of the book "Mistakes we knew we were making". In which he's like,"you fuckers don't know what irony means; let me explain"*. It's all true. *This isn't an actual quote from him.
 
 He uses profanity in an extremely pleasing, effective way. He says motherfucker and fucker a lot and it works really well. I know it's weird to think that profanity can "work" or not, but it's true.. it COULD make the writing seem overly casual, flippant, and bland. It does not. Because Eggers knows what the fuck he's doing.
 
 I liked when the characters broke out of their character-ness and started talking about.. being in the book. Kind of breaking down the third wall. That was also effective; a less skilled writer couldn't have pulled it off.
 
 Eggers is a very skilled writer, I think, though it's easy to miss because you're busy being entertained (and having your heart slightly broken) by the events in the book.
 
 Also, the relationship between him and his brother is awesome. Maybe I'm biased towards brotherly depictions but I thought that was the thing that held the book together and gave it most of its.. heart. Though it had lots.
 
 This book is very funny. Genuinely. Egger's ability to see situations (any situation) as capable of being depicted as both sad/beautiful AND hilarious may be his greatest strength as an author. 
 
 Memoirs are a difficult genre, I think. To write or read. I think Eggers pulled it off effectively and with great aplomb. 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/65207?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Shannon's review
rating:

bookshelves: favorites, lulz, memoirs, own
status: Read in October, 2008
updates: view all 5 updates

The book isn't simple- it's complex, and powerful, beautiful, hilarious, and above all: is feels utterly sincere.

Obviously the title is hyperbolic.. but it's not completely ironic/innacurate either..

Eggers has a great little thing about Irony/the title being ironic/the book being ironic.. in the added section of the book "Mistakes we knew we were making". In which he's like,"you fuckers don't know what irony means; let me explain"*. It's all true. *This isn't an actual quote from him.

He uses profanity in an extremely pleasing, effective way. He says motherfucker and fucker a lot and it works really well. I know it's weird to think that profanity can "work" or not, but it's true.. it COULD make the writing seem overly casual, flippant, and bland. It does not. Because Eggers knows what the fuck he's doing.

I liked when the characters broke out of their character-ness and started talking about.. being in the book. Kind of breaking down the thir...more

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message 1: by Leanne

09/07/2008 04:21PM

I bought this about two years ago and still haven't got off the first couple of pages (I confess, I bought it purely because of the title). I shall one day get around to it.