This book is exceptionally genuine. It's hilarious and tragic, completely relatable and totally unique. Eggers' description of his parents' death, and the subsequent events that unfold could come off as just another story about overcoming personal tragedy. But Eggers appears to be more interested in relating to the reader on a real human level. The book is told in a very train-of-thought, stream-of-consciousness style, but it is rarely (if ever) hard to follow.
What makes this book really unique is its lack of moral purpose, by which I mean that Eggers does not relate his story with the intention of saying, "And now, dear reader, the moral of my story is...". This book is the story of being dropped into the middle of a situation and having to continue living in whatever way seems to work. Eggers' admittedly self-aware writing lets the reader in on the process of one man's working out of what life has handed him. His choices are often selfish or immature, but he is honest, and as a reader, one can't help but reserve judgement.
Also, this book is hilarious. You have to read the copyright page, the table of contents, and the acknowledgements. Basically any page with ink on it should be read.
I would reccomend this semi-fictional memoire, with the caution that some of the content is quite heavy. Eggers ability to make the reader laugh throughout the book is excellent, but as I said, some of the actual content is very, well...heartbreaking.
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