When Dave Eggers'
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius came out, I didn't pay much attention. The title may have caused me to lump the book in with others like David Sedaris'
Me Talk Pretty One Day, which, no offense to Sedaris, is not the type of book I'd pick up on my own. Don't get me wrong, when people have handed his books to me and said, read this particular chapter, I have done so and enjoyed myself thoroughly. Anyway, AHWOSG didn't really enter my consciousness until recently when two people I respect immensely demonstrated enormous love for Eggers' work. So when I spotted it on the bookshelf of the house where I am staying in Tokyo, I decided it was high time for me to read it.
I take this opportunity to gesture to one of my favorite authors, Rick Moody ("This book does not need a blurb.") when I say: This book does not need a review. Nonetheless, I offer the following:
While it is indeed heartbreaking, it is more importantly a work of staggering genius.
I am not being facetious, I am merely reporting fact.
From the acknowledgements to the blurbs on the back cover, the book is simply brilliant.
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