A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

De: Dave Eggers

Narrado por: Dion Graham

Duración: 13 h y 28 m

Resumen del Editor

Dave Eggers scored a worldwide phenomenon with this memoir that topped national best-seller lists and has since become a staple for summer reading and book clubs. A compelling voice for Generation X, Eggers hererecounts his early 20s, caring for his younger brother after their parents’ unexpected deaths and his endeavors in a variety of media.

©2000 David K. Eggers (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Not just for the MTV-fan age group, this is a very entertaining, well-written book.” ( Booklist)

Unique

I’d like to think the author helped to select the narrator of this book. Pitch perfect to the material . Love this book! Read The Circle first snd loved that too. Guess I’m an Eggers fan. Thanks for the giggles and insights. I’ll read this one again and look for what else you have on offer. I’m glad you are young. You have time for more wonders to create. Get on with it!

Kinetic and Exhausting with Phenominaal Narration

Any additional comments?

This book is like one long run on sentence. It's all stream of consciousness, which is exciting at first, then tiring, then revelatory. I found the last 2/3 to be a bit of a slog, but overall it was worth the listen. I must say, Dion Graham's narration is spectacular, reminding me at times of slam poet. Great match of narrator and subject matter.

Audiobook narrator is too exaggerated

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The main reason I want to review this book is the narrator of the audio. This guy completely takes away from the story by being overly expressive. I can see how this could be preferred, and I just noticed a review that praised him, but I am so annoyed by his expressions and exaggerations in this fairly life-like dramatic book. It's a literary piece, not a comedy show. I want some ability to imagine expressions and the dynamic. It feels really fast paced this way, and completely different from what I would imagine with a more traditional audio narrative. It's just not an enjoyable audio. Book is great otherwise. Just get it in a different format, if you can.

Any additional comments?

Great book, but this is to express frustrations with the narrator. Completely took away all the beauty that was in it and turned it into an entertainment piece, which is not what I wanted from a novel, especially not a novel with this theme. I have Netflix for that.

Staggering book, staggering performance

GOATed book, GOATed narrator! Brilliant book by a tremendous writer nuff said said said said said said said

Heartbreaking Indeed

While the writer's sneering representation of Gen-X values and his obvious self-loathing make this book a difficult experience, they're also what set this memoir apart from autobiographical works of self-congratulation. Observing the author's furious, paranoid grasping for solid ground broke my heart, both for the narrator, laboring under a responsibility he's unprepared for, and for his brother, whose childhood is marked by loss and instability. The book made me remember what being 20-something was like. The reader's impassioned delivery is exactly what the author's voice called for.

Brilliant

This is my second book by this author and I loved both. So assured of his talent, I have already purchased two more. I'm also glad he chose Dion to narrate as he is a favorite of mine. This incredible story is all the more astounding in that it is true. Thanks, Dave, for being a fine human being.!

Stream of Consciousness Grieving

This is a personal memoir about a young man who has lost both his mother and his father to two different types of cancers in a very short period of time. The protagonist in his early twenties is then not only left an orphan but is also the caregiver of his much younger brother; he becomes his legal guardian. What makes this book unique is the way in which it is written. The author writes in a stream of consciousness style, all his thoughts laid bare, some heartbreaking, others hysterically funny, some bewilderingly insane, some completely truthful but who would write them down! These are universal thoughts that we have all had, at least once but have never ventured to say them out loud. He can be crude, rude, ugly, beautiful, sad, lonely, mad, selfish, selfless. He admits to it all. I’ve never read/listened to anything like it. It describes how insane loss and grief can feel. He describes how out of control one can feel. You can feel his spiraling down and then his treading water, slowing building up again after so much devastating loss. I thought the narrator did an excellent job reading this run-on compilation of words, thoughts, sentences seemingly effortlessly. Did he breathe once during the entire reading?

Good on Eggers

What did you love best about A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius?

New to this author, his work was refreshing, funny and crisp. The story took me back to walking through my mother's passing as well. His accurate portrayal was painful, realistic and poignant.

What didn’t you like about Dion Graham’s performance?

The chronically snappy presentation was annoying after chapter two, by chapter 12 it was terminally frenetic as if every word had an explanation point behind it. I gave up on the book due to the constant pounding.

Any additional comments?

I'd say buy the hardback, skip the audio.

intense sometimes with similar history

hard to listen to sometimes,glad for the comic relief but knew I needed to hear it all. struck a chord. excellent reading! excellent writing!

Entertaining but not so Heartbreaking

Slow, boring start to this book. But the performance by the narrator, actor Dion Graham, was so compelling it made me hang around long enough to discover that the writing in the book was drivingly forceful and hilarious.

Entertaining but imparted little or no wisdom. A great book for the beach but not for learning anything about humanity or the world.