When Dave Eggers published the hardcover edition of his memoirs, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, he expected to die. In fact, according to the appendix added to the recently published paperback edition, he still does. This is not unusual for a memoirist, memoirs being the sort of thing one usually publishes at the end of one's lifetime as a summation of past events and recollections.
Eggers, however, published his memoirs at the ripe young age of 28, documenting his experiences between the ages of 21 and 27. It is unusual for healthy 28 year-olds to expect to die, almost as unusual as it is for them to publish bestsellers.
Despite what this may lead readers to believe, the memoirs of this twentysomething are not necessarily the account of a college graduate partying with his friends in San Francisco, consuming and creating pop-culture, and wrestling with his younger brother. Well, not entirely. Eggers' parents both died of cancer, within a month of each other, during his senior year of college. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is one of many creative ventures Eggers has undertaken during the mourning process, and as such is an account of his life after their deaths.
What makes the book unique, however, is the combination of mourning and celebration, death and sex, destruction and creation... that doesn't actually sound so unique when one comes right out and says it. But when Eggers says it, with the voice and anecdotes of a 21-year-old, the result is a staggeringly surprising work of, well, of genius.
Eggers' refreshingly honest and young voice contains echoes of self-consciousness and struggle. Even while relating fuzzy memories about lighting streets on fire with neighborhood friends or hitting (in vain) on women in San Francisco bars, there is the undertone of desperation so present in people of his age - a result of longing for normalcy, pressure to succeed, and insecurity about the future. Add to this the responsibility of caring for and educating a younger brother, and you have justification to write your memoirs.
That younger brother, Toph, is one of many saving graces in the story. Though he seldom appears in the dialogue, his and Eggers' antics while trying to keep themselves entertained (perhaps distracted?) are the memories that stand out the most. His personality shines through the narrative, and is polished by Eggers' overt dedication to him, both in life and as a character.
Eggers himself as a character is possessed with the intelligence, humor, and paranoid delusions of most men his age. His ego and sarcasm permeate the thoughts and stories he shares, and not always in a good way. But the fact that he knows this, writes about writing about it, and chooses to publish compromising tales of himself and his acquaintances is a testament to his courage and overwhelming need to share his story. And it explains why he believed the birth of this book would lead to his own death.
The idea of sharing the pain is a theme Eggers returns to several times throughout the story. After the first 100 pages or so, which retell the deteriorating health and death of his mother, his parents are alluded to only when referring to his present life. He speaks often about the difficulties of explaining to strangers why he is his younger brother's guardian, but with distance and humor that make an uncomfortable situation easy to swallow, both for the author and the reader. Always the prankster, he gets fed up with answering "How's Toph?" with the expected response, and allows his creativity to play tricks on unsuspecting inquirers. Revised responses range from, "Still limping," to "Back from reform school," to "I dunno, he took off a couple days ago."
The novel exists as much as a means to share pain as it does as a medium through which Eggers can dote on himself and his own creativity. He readily admits that while his situation is tragic, he sometimes uses it to his advantage (though not without second thoughts). The wit and humor with which he tells of tricking people or making fun of them somehow excuses his actions, until the reader remembers that the events in this story actually did take place - he actually did fake Adam West's death, for example.
The fact that he is telling this to an audience of thousands, however, speaks to the fact that he is purging himself of ugliness in his life, of mistakes he may have made, of feelings he may have hurt, and of bitterness he may have felt because of the unfairness of his own situation. The book speaks with the angry and clever voice of a 28-year-old man who loves unconditionally, hates without justification, overanalyzes himself and others, and has, through the publishing of his story, "lost his taste for blood."
Though a relatively quick read because of its pace and entertaining voice, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius can at times be as difficult as drudging up one's own childhood memories. There are things in life that everyone would rather forget. As Eggers explores these things for himself, the reader not only empathizes with him but also is reminded of personal defeats. The whole thing isn't as melodramatic as all that, though, and some parts are more akin to listening to a friend who drones on and on about a topic which does not interest you.
On the other hand, the reward for listening to Eggers' unrelenting self-discovery (specifically, through the guise of an interview to appear as a guest on MTV's Real World) is entrance into his community. His network of friends and acquaintances, and the experiences they share, are as personal as remembering one's own stories. For college students, the book could be one long e-mail, written in an informal and personal tone, including rants and grotesque imagery.
In the appendix, which, similar to the preface, exists as its own storytelling entity, Eggers admits to never actually re-reading the whole book before sending it to the publisher, either for its first publishing or its more recent paperback edition with revisions. To some, this may seem like a careless oversight typical of his personality. But for the romantics in the audience, it seems more like proof that his blood is on these pages.
The process of writing was, for him, so painful that once written, he found himself unable to revise. He has published his raw emotions and thoughts, and just as we (and he) tune into reality programming on television, so are we enthralled by his real world. Just as he wants to swim in a sea of naked friends and loved ones and sit at its bottom for a while, so we want to devour the pages and believe in the characters.
Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, will be speaking at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square next Monday, April 16th.
