I've disliked "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" from the moment I first heard its title. It seemed specifically designed to annoy me, and I refused to have anything to do with it.
Since then, my siblings have read and enjoyed it, and I've gradually warmed to Dave Eggers through reading "What is the What," some McSweeney's issues, and more importantly, their Internet Tendency. I've even made the pilgrimage to the Pirate Supply Shop, which I think I might add to my San Francisco tour for out-of-towners. I've liked what I've encountered so far: earnestness, humor, thoughtfulness, exuberance, and a particular voice that really appeals to me. Eventually I shrugged, decided to give up on my prejudice, and picked up AHWOSG.
Only a few pages in, I knew I was going to enjoy it. Eggers packs every scrap of the book with stuff, from the copyright information page to the table of contents to the most sprawling introduction that I think I've read. I can easily see how many readers would find it annoying, but I think I've been primed by now on other Eggers media to the point where I feel like I'm in on the joke. I quickly decided to turn off the criticism sector of my brain, release, and enjoy.
This post isn't intended as a full review, just a chance for a couple of specific reactions I had to particular sections of the book.
MINI SPOILERS
Wow, Eggers' description of the transition from Illinois to the Bay Area was amazing. The second chapter opens with this incredible description of him flying down Highway 1, headed towards the beach with his younger brother. The contrast between the gray, chilly Midwest and the absolute freedom and energy of the west coast is shocking, and completely matches my own experience. Throughout the book I was amazed at what a wonderful job he does at describing the local scene here, whether it is Berkeley or San Francisco, the geography or the culture, down to all the little details that are still totally true 15 years later (urination on Market Street, the look of the bridges, the relative merits of The Mission and SOMA).
One thing that I'm not clear on is exactly where "South Park" is located. In the book, this is where Might Magazine makes its home, in the same building where Wired was started. I'd assumed that this was in SOMA, because that's where such things are often located, but there are no parks here to be south of. It may be referring to an area in the Avenues, south of either the Presidio or Golden Gate, but that's just speculation, and it doesn't seem like a media-rich area. I suppose that this area has probably changed name or gotten absorbed into another neighborhood in the interim, because I don't think I've heard of it.
(And, now that I actually look at the Google Map, I see where South Park is. Geez, that's tiny!)
There's an uncanny passage late in the book where Eggers describes seeing Bill Clinton as he's leaving Chez Panisse in Berkeley. His description of his attitude towards Clinton is staggeringly appropriate, and seems like it could have been written a few months ago about Obama. Reading it made me feel dizzy, and made me desperately hope that Obama can fulfill his potential.
I dig the idea Eggers builds throughout the book and articulates around the midpoint, this thought that people can build social lattices around them. I'm reminded of Kurt Vonnegut's plaintive slogan "Lonesome No More." The more people you touch, the more people who touch you, the more support you have - not financial or physical, but psychological. Just knowing that people care about you makes your burdens easier to bear. This flies in the face of American individualism, and sounds really nice. Most of us have lattices of, I dunno, maybe a few dozen or, in some cases, a few hundred people. Is Eggers' dream of a mega-lattice of thousands or millions feasible? He sure seems to be trying for it. I loved the part of the appendix where he described leaving his car trunk open so strangers could connect with him. And, it dovetails nicely with the introduction where he invites people to send him their pictures and share their stories. You can see the lattice-building continuing with Eggers' current projects, which focus on telling people's stories and helping us share experiences with those with whom we otherwise would have nothing in common.
END SPOILERS
All in all, an awesome book. I hesitate to give it a blanket recommendation, but do suggest that you pick it up in a bookstore or library and just read the first page or two. If you like what you read there, you'll enjoy the book. Not to say that it's all in that same voice - parts are extremely dark and, well, heartbreaking, but that's part of the point. As Eggers eloquently argues in the appendix, our culture is too devoted to the dichotomy between earnest and ironic, serious and humorous, literary and fun. His book cheerfully transcends all such barriers, and is far better for it.
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