A heartbreaking work of staggering genius

437 pages

English language

Published Jan. 6, 2001 by Vintage Books.

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (58 reviews)

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is a memoir by Dave Eggers released in 2000. It chronicles his stewardship of his younger brother Christopher "Toph" Eggers following the cancer-related deaths of his parents. The book was a commercial and critical success, reaching number one on The New York Times bestseller list and being nominated as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. Time magazine and several newspapers dubbed it "The Best Book of the Year". Critics praised the book for its wild, vibrant prose, and it was described as "big, daring [and] manic-depressive" by The New York Times. The book was chosen as the 12th best book of the decade by The Times.

9 editions

Review of 'A heartbreaking work of staggering genius' on Goodreads

4 stars

I was at the Fremont Sunday Market and saw this book, it looked interesting, sounded interesting, and I loved the passages I skimmed, so I bought it, after finding the right guy to give my $5 to. Then I went to add it to GoodReads but didn't have it on me, and couldn't remember the title. I couldn't find it in the Pulitzer list, even though I was pretty sure it had a Pulitzer sticker on it, so on a whim I Googled "best books of the decade" and this book was one of the three covers on the first result. Google skills for the win. Once I actually read it (I'm currently in the midst of [b:Middlesex|2187|Middlesex|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266448283s/2187.jpg|1352495] and [b:The Perks of Being a Wallflower|22628|The Perks of Being a Wallflower|Stephen Chbosky|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167352178s/22628.jpg|2236198], and [b:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|3985|The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|Michael Chabon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1226235457s/3985.jpg|2693329] is also …

Review of 'A heartbreaking work of staggering genius' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

I was at the Fremont Sunday Market and saw this book, it looked interesting, sounded interesting, and I loved the passages I skimmed, so I bought it, after finding the right guy to give my $5 to. Then I went to add it to GoodReads but didn't have it on me, and couldn't remember the title. I couldn't find it in the Pulitzer list, even though I was pretty sure it had a Pulitzer sticker on it, so on a whim I Googled "best books of the decade" and this book was one of the three covers on the first result. Google skills for the win. Once I actually read it (I'm currently in the midst of [b:Middlesex|2187|Middlesex|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266448283s/2187.jpg|1352495] and [b:The Perks of Being a Wallflower|22628|The Perks of Being a Wallflower|Stephen Chbosky|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167352178s/22628.jpg|2236198], and [b:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|3985|The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|Michael Chabon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1226235457s/3985.jpg|2693329] is also …

Review of 'A heartbreaking work of staggering genius' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I was at the Fremont Sunday Market and saw this book, it looked interesting, sounded interesting, and I loved the passages I skimmed, so I bought it, after finding the right guy to give my $5 to. Then I went to add it to GoodReads but didn't have it on me, and couldn't remember the title. I couldn't find it in the Pulitzer list, even though I was pretty sure it had a Pulitzer sticker on it, so on a whim I Googled "best books of the decade" and this book was one of the three covers on the first result. Google skills for the win. Once I actually read it (I'm currently in the midst of [b:Middlesex|2187|Middlesex|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266448283s/2187.jpg|1352495] and [b:The Perks of Being a Wallflower|22628|The Perks of Being a Wallflower|Stephen Chbosky|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167352178s/22628.jpg|2236198], and [b:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|3985|The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|Michael Chabon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1226235457s/3985.jpg|2693329] is also …

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Subjects

  • Eggers, Dave
  • Parents -- Death -- Psychological aspects
  • Brothers -- Biography