Member Reviews

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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 4 stars

  “I've been meaning to read this book for years, and finally got around to it. After having just finished "What is the What," which I thought was great (though took me forever to read because it is so depressing and intense), I thought I'd finally read this one.
  
  It was interesting and kept my attention, but I don't know that it lived up to the hype (that either I have heard, or created in my own mind). Eggers comes off as very human, at times very likable and other not so much, which I think is a strength. However, while his jumpy, stream of consciousness narration style makes for an interesting read, I feel like some of his meaning and symbolism was a little lost. Overall, I think this is worth the read.”

  Joe M wrote this review Thursday, July 24 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 4 stars

  “The coolest writing I've read in a long time. Eggers writes about tragedy without melodrama, and definitely with a style and voice all his own. He's not following anyone else's rules. And the result is that it feels personal, it feels honest, it feels like him. It feels real.
  
  The beginning is intense, more for its dramas of the heart than for the succession of events. There are a few key events that occur, and the way he writes about those times is powerful. I kind of got bogged down in the middle, where ironically I think there's more day-to-day chain-of-events writing. The end, which is also less packed with events but focuses on a few key experiences, picked up again for me and dragged me right along for the ride. ”

  Ray wrote this review Wednesday, July 23 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 4 stars

  “Really well-written and heart wrenching story about an not-too-common living situation for someone from a generation of non-accomphishment. ”

  Lesli F wrote this review Monday, June 30 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 0 stars

  “I bought this book in New York at a bookstore called The Strand. I've tried twice to get through it. The first time I blame it on trying to read it in a busy New York Emergency room, the second time I tried to read it was under normal circumstances. He's got a very neurotic and somewhat unorganized way of writing. He just lets whatever thought take him away. It was funny though, and at times intensely frustrating. It's a good story I just got lost amongst the words, and thoughts.
  
  I've seen other books of Egger's in bookstores and am tempted to buy them, but then I remind myself that I have yet to get through "Heartbreaking" so I should hold off and find out if I actually like him or not.”

  staci wrote this review Wednesday, September 12 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

  • Rated 5 stars

  “This was a difficult book to read due to its intensely sad subject matter, yet by the time I had finished it, I was thankful that I had picked it up. Eggers seamlessly writes about a subject that is almost unimaginable yet managed to do so in a way that left this reader hopeful and impressed beyond comprehension. Great book!”

  Bayarts wrote this review Sunday, September 2 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 2 stars

  “Would've given it 3 stars but by the time I finished all those endless paragraphs (that turned out to be one long tedious sentence each) all I remembered was "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." I appreciate writers who know how to economize words in order to say a lot. Eggers needed a better editor.”

  Karen S wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “I enjoyed this book, but fail to understand the hype. I mean, the title's irony alone says something: the work is not heartbreaking, staggering, nor particularly genius. But a good read.”

  Grant S wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “I didn't finish it, it was just dragging me down in the end...he just seemed too into himself. The book started feeling like a burden, so with only 100 pages out of 450 left to go, I purged myself of this book.”

  Marisol E wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “I resisted this book for several years, having had my fill of "metafiction" in graduate school, but I decided to put my bias aside and give Eggers a chance. He does great work with young writers at 826 Valencia after all. I was surprisingly engaged by the "novel" or however it's classified, though I didn't think the poignancy of the story justified all of the gimmickry as much as one of the critics claimed. Nonetheless, I thought some of the gimmicks were fun.”

  Mary F wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )