A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

[WordMan]

@Eve

But “dated” doesn’t matter if it’s good. Dickens is “dated,” so are Poe and Jane Austen and Evelyn Waugh: their style and their plot points have been copied endlessly. To me, Eggers’ style is just twee and self-consciously quirky and annoying.

That said, you may love him: give it a try. I cant stand Hemingway, so obviously tastes differ . . .

Great point. There is a fine line between a fresh voice challenging old rules and an annoying style quirk.

What’s interesting is that the “Leading Light of the Generation” was David Foster Wallace - also known for a very self-aware style, and someone who Eggers very explicitly idolized and worked with at McSweeney’s and in other ways. He has been dead for a few years and, if anything, folks are lining up behind his (DFW’s) work as shining even more brightly. It will be interesting to see how that acclaim ages over time…but the analysis of DFW’s work and self-conscious style and use of footnotes and such is definitely impacting how other writers, like Eggers and Jonathan Franzen and Jeffrey Eugenides (who featuers a character just like DFW in his recent novel) are assessed…

[VinylTurnip]

@Implicit

Do you like reading blogs? It’s more like a blog than a novel.

I might’ve enjoyed it if I’d read it with that attitude. Unfortunately, when I did read it, I didn’t know what a “blog” was.

I got through it, but found the overly precious, hipster-ironic self-referential style to be extremely off-putting. Sadly, that style has taken root.

[Maserschmidt]

When I read a book I follow the “Page 50 Rule” which says I have to give any book that many pages before giving up.

I quit this one at page 50.

[Dignan]

I really liked it. I think I was 20 when I read it, and I felt like I could relate to parts of it. I liked the humor, and writing style. It’s been a while since I read it, so I’m not sure I can still say this, but at the time I remember thinking that his description of seeing/meeting Bill Clinton perfectly explained what I liked about him.

I can see what others don’t like about it, so it really does come down to personal preference. I would recommend reading it. I thought it went pretty fast. Whether or not he is original, a lot of the way he writes was the first time I’d read anything in that style.

[Spice_Weasel]

I loved it, but I honestly don’t see you enjoying it. I could be totally off, but you strike me as a very literal, rational person and the book is like a purging of emotions combined with a bunch of literary experimentation (tons of breaking the fourth wall, to the point of having characters discuss the book’s symbolism.) It’s an interesting story but it’s presented in a most unconventional and somewhat convoluted way.