Advantages: Eggers truly human voice commands respect - despite what sometimes, admittedly, comes across as arrogance. Disadvantages: Perhaps a little long winded in parts. But you really have to remember that this is sincerely part of Eggers intended technique.
...Your Mum dies of stomach Cancer and your Dad of a heart tumour. Then, as the 'responsible' sibling of three, you're the one left to bring up your 8 year old brother. What do you do next? Well, if your DaveEggers - self confessed martyr - you sell your childhood home, take your brother to California, take as many advantages from the sympathy of others and as much cash from government organisations as you can (after all you are now "owed"), start up a failing magazine and attempt to raise a child in the only adolescent, slightly post-pubescent way you know how; then of course you write a book about it.
AHWOSG is certainly what it says on the tin. Eggers writes from the heart and is unafraid of telling such a heart rendering story in his own way. You would never expect a tale of childhood loss and the resulting effects of social anxiety...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
...Not sure if it was heartbreaking - maybe more of a stagger down a tiresome emotional journey with occasional glimpses of light. I'm not going to attempt a précis of the whole tale here, but put down a few salient points that I enjoyed about the book- I never see the point of reviewing a book by rehashing the whole story.
Basically, the book recounts a portion of the life of a young man- DaveEggers and his attempts to
bring up his younger brother when both his parents die of cancer in quick succession. It is very well written- especially for a first book- but is pretentious to the extent that , you don't really care much about the pairs plight, although I had genuine sympathy for the young boy- Eggers' self righteousness and pretentiousness irritated me to an astounding degree.
However, he made two excellent points in his book...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: It's cleverly written, because whilst wallowing in the morbid it still manages to be quite lighthearted. I don't know how. Disadvantages: You do have to read about death at the beginning, sorry.
...I came across this fantastic book when the Guardian printed extracts in it's weekend pull out section. It was a couple of months before the book was to come out in this country. I eagerly awaited it's release; at the price of £14.99, it's more than I would normally consider spending on a book. Preferring to buy 2nd hand books from local charity shops, or for those books I feel won't turn up there, borrow from a friend or buy if under a tenner. But the extracts and the little I'd heard about DaveEggers autobiography, had me in the shop on it's day of release.
DaveEggers was 21 when both his mother and father died, both within a space of a few weeks, due to cancer. His mother had had cancer for a long time, (a drawn out affair). His father was more of a shock, because whilst they knew something was wrong, nothing was ever said...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
28.10.2005
11.02.2002
