A Heartbreaking work
of Staggering Genius. The title of
the book is already a handful.
A
Heartbreaking: “causing
overwhelming distress; very upsetting.”
Work: “something
done or made.”
Of
Staggering: “astonish[ing]
or deeply shock[ing].”
Genius: “exceptional
intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.”
The author,
Dave Eggers, was certainly paying attention in class when they gave the CCOA
title workshop. Furthermore, he is one
of the few authors that perfectly captures the tone of the contents of the book
in the title. The memoir, up until the
first chapter, is unique. There is a
drawing of a stapler on the first pages.
There is a sort of graphic organizer that relates to “The Deaths.” (What deaths? Why organize what seems like an
ancestry tree that only mentions death?) Lastly, there is a prelude that
includes, in bullet point format, a list of what to read and what not to read. The author, quite candidly, tells the reader
what is most interesting and necessary about his work and what can be excluded
without issue.
 |
| Staggering |
 |
| Heartbreaking |
Then there’s
the actual writing. It follows the trail
set by the title and the prelude like no other book I’ve ever read. Basically, the memoir describes a truly
unpleasant situation regarding his house, his mother’s health, and his father’s
drinking habits. He brilliantly narrates
a story that is meant to be read at a faced pace, skipping over the distraught
setting. This makes for a sophisticated
tone that screams that the narrator’s life gets so much more complicated as the
memoir progresses, that if he doesn’t illustrate the beginning with a nonchalance
tone, the book wouldn’t be genius and
would be reduced to heartbreak.
 |
| Genius |
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