Book Review

"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," by Dave Eggers

For years the aforementioned book has been one of Alicia's favorites. Alicia and I don't normally share the same interests when it comes to books, but after years of being harassed to give the book a try, I finally caved in. I'm sorry that I did.

I spent some time on a recent flight and was bored with the book at about page 15. I kept going since I had already read all the interesting articles on the in-flight SkyWest magazine. Further, there was nothing that I found alluring in the in-flight shopping magazine. I took a break several minutes later at page 28 to stuff my face with a small bag of Hanover pretzels handed to me by the flight attendant. Unsatisfied, I asked for a second bag. I saved the eight ounce bottle of water for later.

I reopened the book thinking that it might get better. I got to page 69 after learning more than I cared to learn about Dave Eggers' family saga. That's where I finally laid the book down. Although there were some humorous passages in his "Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of This Book" and the Preface, the rest of the pages were anti-climatic.

I'm at best a novice critic, so please feel free to check out a copy of the book at the library. Or, if you happen to find it at a thrift store, it's well worth $.25 (will help you light the fireplace in Winter). Sorry Alicia, I gave it a good try, but I just didn't dig it. I did however give the SkyWest magazine another go-round...