You Shall Know Our Velocity! in Overdue Podcast

Dec 19, 2010 Kerry rated it really liked it

My favorable impression of this book is based partly on hearing Dave Eggers speak at the Newport Beach Library. I found his regular-guy persona to be very charismatic, his commitment to the work of the "826" tutoring centers to be inspiring, and his enthusiasm for the written word to be refreshing.

"Velocity" is funny and touching, and not what I expected (in a good way). The blurbs say this is a story about a couple of guys who travel around the world in order to give away $32,000 in one week. S My favorable impression of this book is based partly on hearing Dave Eggers speak at the Newport Beach Library. I found his regular-guy persona to be very charismatic, his commitment to the work of the "826" tutoring centers to be inspiring, and his enthusiasm for the written word to be refreshing.

"Velocity" is funny and touching, and not what I expected (in a good way). The blurbs say this is a story about a couple of guys who travel around the world in order to give away $32,000 in one week. So my expectations centered around expecting them to be running toward something, when in reality they are doing nothing but running from.

The narrator is Will, who is traveling with his lifelong friend Hand. These two are emotionally adolescent and sometimes manic 27-year-olds who, for the first time in their adult lives, are confronted with mortality. Through a haze of airports and hotels and rental cars we learn of the defining events of their lives while seeing Africa and northeastern Europe.

The duo's backstory has to do with the death of their best friend, which also led obliquely to Will's getting beat up. Girlfriends and family play only marginal roles, but this is so much more than a "buddies hit the road" story.

Being "charitable" turns out to require much more effort than they planned, and the two are frequently accosted by touts and prostitutes. Their schemes to give away the money become wackier; at one point, they think that taping a pouch of cash to the side of a goat (so the money can be found by the goat's owner) is a workable idea. Like Will and Hand, I was left wondering what it means for Americans to come into a "poor" country and give away money.

The theme of mortality manifests as lost time. Will and Hand are constantly thwarted by airline schedules and visa requirements that prevent them from traveling where they want, when they want. They become frantic when forced to wait. For Will, being still means confronting the voices in his head.

The book, particularly the ending, was bittersweet. I enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it! ...more

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Sep 24, 2016 Nicola rated it really liked it · review of another edition

. It took me a long time to read this book in part because parts of it were too painful, too slow-going for a book about moving constantly but I suppose that's the book itself, transitory, elusive and a riot of colour. I did love the book but it wasn't without its flaws even for what it was although I'm in two minds about it and what I'll call its narrative approach to disappointment.

There's a gorgeous, gorgeous passage in here, the exchange between Will and Hand, that so perfectly matches my ow ...more

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