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A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story Audiobook
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(3.00) - 99,795 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The literary sensation of the year, a book that redefines both family and narrative for the twenty-first century. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is an instant classic that will be read in paperback for decades to come.
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"It took me a long time to finish the book, sometimes because it was annoying and sometimes for fear of what would come next and a lot of times because I had very little empathy with the narrator. But now that I'm done with it, I'm impressed at Eggers' ability to reveal the workings of his own tortured twenty-something mind, and I'm also impressed by the volume of love he reveals, behind many layers, in this memoir."
— Jeannine (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Eggers…manages to deal trenchantly with ‘big issues’ that often prove too daunting for younger writers: mortality, youth, the artifice of writing, the Zen of Frisbee. This is a beautifully ragged, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly unforgettable book.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“A virtuosic piece of writing, a big, daring, manic-depressive stew of a book.”
— New York Times -
“Eggers evokes the terrible beauty of youth like a young Bob Dylan, frothing with furious anger…His book is a comic and moving witness that transcends and transgresses formal boundaries.”
— Washington Post -
“Funny, wildly intelligent.”
— Boston Globe
Awards
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A 2000 Guardian First Book Award Finalist
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A 2001 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for General Nonfiction
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Oprah Pick for Best Memoirs of a Generation
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Listener Reviews
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" Sad tale but self-indulgent. "
— Carrie, 2/2/2014 -
" both hilariously funny and very poignant, and pretentious but in a good way "
— Derek, 1/27/2014 -
" I loved the beginning of this book. I absolutely hated the rest. By the end I was just kind of mad at Eggers for the life he's lived and his perspective. I do, at least, appreciate his honesty about being a manipulative jerk. "
— Thilardiel, 1/20/2014 -
" lots of hype, it was good... "
— Annie, 1/1/2014 -
" Always heartbreaking. The first real chapter and the last couple pages always leave me speechless. "
— Doug, 1/1/2014 -
" Intensely and obsessively self-absorbed prose. Beautiful and acutely painful passages about the awkwardness of social interaction in your 20s. Perfect encapsulation of the "Reality Bites" generation. "
— Dawn, 12/29/2013 -
" staggeringly sad at first, after awhile he plays that tragedy card too much. oh but the end is such a sweet jumbled rush. eggers has moments of hilarious paranoia and his cautiousness is almost insecure but it's fitting. the preface and 'mistakes we knew we were making' are so much more personal, which is what everyone wants after reading a story like this. eggers is a true human. "
— Becca, 11/29/2013 -
" Best memoir ever. The title truly says it all. "
— Byron, 11/23/2013 -
" It took me several tries to get into it but once I took the plunge, I was totally hooked. "
— Julie, 11/19/2013 -
" "Do it you fuckers" "
— Emily, 11/14/2013 -
" This is easily the best thing by Eggers that I've ever read. It's emotional, playful, and a great deal of fun to read. Personally, I don't care what is fiction and what is real. I just treated as a novel and I had a ball. "
— David, 11/10/2013 -
" I almost gave him that second star out of pity...almost. "
— Alia, 9/18/2013 -
" Loved this book! One of my all time favorite autobiographies. "
— Mimi, 8/13/2013 -
" I know people that loved this book, but I really did not enjoy it. It seemed overly self-conscious and pretentious. Blech. "
— Malia, 8/1/2013 -
" I thought the portrayal of the turmoil and incoherent thought patterns that can accompany death was both touching and realistic, without being maudlin. "
— Denise, 6/7/2013 -
" For book lovers with open minds to many genres, this is not to be missed. Creative, outside-the-box writing that's real and the stuff of life. He has the gift and it is there for you and me. "
— Julieb, 9/3/2012 -
" Actually lives up to its name. A funny, moving, weird, angry, upsetting, philosophical, not-quite-all-true memoir of a super-smart Gen X orphan, who can really write, and will probably make you laugh, but probably also piss you off too. "
— Julia, 7/19/2012 -
" Yes to all three: heartbreaking, staggering and genius. "
— Azabu, 6/14/2012 -
" A lot of narcissism and a little humor. I think I chuckled out loud only once. "
— Elizabeth, 5/2/2012 -
" One of the few books I couldn't finish, maybe I'll try it again "
— Mei, 4/16/2012 -
" I loved the "side note" writing style. A bit difficult to work through, but overall an excellent book. "
— Donna, 1/8/2012 -
" Pretentious bloviating (bloviated?) drivel. "
— Tim, 11/1/2011 -
" Wonderful, both hysterically funny, manic and at times hard to take...but well worth it. I cared about the people. "
— Elisa, 7/31/2011 -
" it gets a little bogged down in the middle but the first third of this book is mesmerizing "
— Oceansofie, 6/29/2011 -
" A bit much sometimes, but full of raw emotion, good, engaging writing and humor (especially the bit about Adam Rich). "
— Chris, 6/28/2011 -
" I hate it with a passion "
— Chandra, 6/24/2011 -
" Eggers is absolutely brilliant. The book was even better because I grew up in SF... "
— Jake, 6/21/2011 -
" I rarely come across a book I can't finish, so I was surprised when I got 1/4 of the way through this thing and wanted to throw it at the wall. "
— Melina, 6/21/2011 -
" A little too manic for me "
— Marylp, 6/20/2011 -
" An interesting look at Mr. Eggers's life as he coped with the death of his parents, and the new responsibility of raising his younger brother, Toph. I really liked the self awareness that was apparent throughout his prose, and the unorthodox styles of writing encountered in this book. "
— Justin, 6/17/2011 -
" Ug. Only finished it because it was for my book club. Otherwise would have bagged after 50 pages. This is just not the kind of chaotic mind that I want or need to experience. "
— Laurie, 6/15/2011 -
" It was okay, not sure what I can write that hasn't already been written in reviews on this book. "
— Jeff, 6/15/2011
About Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is the author of children’s fiction, young adult fiction, science fiction, and more. His works have won the Newbery Medal, Dayton Literary Peace Prize, France’s Prix Médicis, Germany’s Albatross Prize, the National Magazine Award, and the American Book Award. He is the founder of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing company based in San Francisco, and is cofounder of 826 National, a network of educational centers around the country offering free tutoring to kids of all backgrounds.
About Dion Graham
Dion Graham is an award-winning narrator named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Audie Award numerous times, as well as Earphones Awards, the Publishers Weekly Listen Up Awards, IBPA Ben Franklin Awards, and the ALA Odyssey Award. He was nominated in 2015 for a Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Narration. He is also a critically acclaimed actor who has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, with an MFA degree in acting.