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Wynelda-Ann Deaver

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
by Dave Eggers
Vintage Books, 2000
Trade Paperback, 437 pages
ISBN 0-375-72578-4
$14.00 USD

When I first bought A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, I was unsure of what to expect. On the one hand, it is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, as the cover proudly announces. On the other hand is the fact that any book that has one page with the phrase “THIS WAS UNCALLED FOR” before the title page even comes up was going to tickle my funny bone.

There are lots of things that can be seen as humorous in this novel. At the very core of the novel, however, is a tragedy. It is the story of how siblings gather together to try and raise their young brother when both parents die within a short time span. And yet, it is “Exhilarating… Profoundly moving, occasionally angry and often hilarious… A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is finally, a finite book of jest, which is why it succeeds so brilliantly,” according to the New York Times Book Review.

As a writer, I want to know: what makes it brilliant? Is it the “Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of this Book” which starts with the fact that there’s no reason to read the preface? Perhaps it is the inclusion of deleted scenes in the beginning of the book, much as a DVD would have, which makes it so brilliant. Or the fact that the author shows the muse talking to him, admonishing him for using the pain of others, for using his pain, to make a good book. Don’t forget the flow chart of themes that is provided in the 20-page preface, or the drawing of a stapler. But these are just gimmicks, tricks of the trade that allow the memoir to slide into another genre.

Ultimately, even with all the exaggerations that the muse claims, what makes the book succeed is the truth that it portrays. The sincerity that flows through this book cannot be faked. The reader will know the difference. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius looks at a man in emotional turmoil—sometimes he hides from it, sometimes he faces it. But it is almost always honest, even when dealing with the exaggerations. When honesty is achieved in writing, when the writer is essentially bleeding on the page, the reader cannot help but respond.

Write now. Write something deeply, personally true for yourself. Do not allow yourself to hide, to mince words. That is when we achieve our own greatest work.