FINISHED!!

There. Finished my book.  Since the beginning of this school year I've read all 437 pages of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, 206 pages of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 252 pages of My Antonia, and 46 pages of Angela's Ashes.  Next on the list is getting through Chapter 4 of Angela's Ashes, The Grapes of Wrath, and whatever I choose to read for this class.  Its a lot of work when combined with band, dance, school, and friends, but I think I'm doing well so far!  Give me a little while and we will see how bogged down I get.

I really loved A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.  It was probably the best book I've read since freshman year.  The ending was so strange though!  I'm not really sure what happened, except that there was a lot of cussing involved.  Basically, Eggers seemed to express both his pride in finishing his book and his shame for what he called "cannibalizing," the people in it.  While he felt he was doing something important by writing his story, the friend with the codename John played the devil's advocate in the last few pages.  John was a friend who was prone to drama.  He threatened suicide on multiple occasions and Eggers used him as a type of metaphor for chaos.  Occasionally, John actually speaks out against this portrayal in the book.  He says that Eggers simply tells the sad stories, ignoring the normal, happy people.  In a way, this is true.  Eggers talks about a friends and family who have tragic accidents, die, fake dying, threaten suicide, and essentially live screwed up lives.  Very rarely do the people around him seem normal.  I do not know if this portrayal is true, but I believe that Eggers did his best to write a book that was meaningful, entertaining, and insightful.  It confused me and intrigued me because it was foreign, yet at the same time familiar.  The style was strange, and his life was unlikely, but some of the events hit very close to home.  Overall, I would recommend the book to anyone who is willing to be challenged - both because of the length and the material.  I truly enjoyed reading this heartbreaking work of staggering genius.