ANNA GUMBERG
Dave Eggers is Staggering
The problem with modern literature’s frequently found trope of “the atypical 20-something living in the city” is that we are forced to take the protagonist’s exceptional qualities of enlightenment or intellect or general novelty at face value. Their narration is trapped in the limited perspective of being 20-something. It is the acknowledgement of this cliche, the near-caricaturization of the trope, that makes Dave Eggers’ “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” so brilliant and enjoyable to read.
September 22, 2017