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A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering GeniusA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (or AHWoSG) is a 2000 memoir by Dave Eggers. It chronicles the cancer-related deaths of his parents and his stewardship of his youngest brother Toph (short for Christopher) while working as the editor of an independent magazine in Berkley, California. The book was an enormous commercial and critical success, reaching number one on the 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 named it "The Best Book of the Year." Critics praised the book for its wild, vibrant prose, described as big, daring and manic-depressive" by The New York Times. However, some readers and critics felt Eggers writing was undisciplined and self-indulgent. Plot Synopsis In Chicago, Dave Eggers and his siblings, Bill, Beth and Toph (who is 13 years younger than his next eldest sibling, Dave) endure the sudden death of their father due to lung cancer. 32 days later, their mother dies from stomach cancer after a long struggle. Afterwards, Dave, Beth and Toph move to Berkley, California, where Dave becomes the legal guardian of Toph. They lead a carefree lifestyle as Dave and his friends organize an independent magazine called Might in San Francisco and become engrossed in the Generation X culture. Dave also auditions for MTVs The Real World. However, Dave often feels conflicted between his responsibilities as a Toph's legal parent and his desire to enjoy his 20s. Also, the specter of their parents deaths haunts the family. Fiction or Non-Fiction? A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is usually classified a memoir or autobiography and its foundation is certainly laid in true events. However, Eggers takes great creative liberties. He often writes wild, tangential fantasy scenes. He occasionally compresses time, making events in the book closer in time to one another than they actually were. He also allows characters to say things they really did not in order to make a point about his own character or the book itself (for example, Toph occasionally speaks in terms too advanced for his age to criticize Dave for faults Dave perceives in himself). Eggers is careful to point out to his readers what parts of the book were fictionalized or exaggerated and which were not both in the course of the book and in the preface. Preface and addendums Atypical, but inline with Eggers feral, comedic style, the book includes lengthy preface and acknowledgement sections, a list of tips to better enjoy the book and a guide to its symbols and metaphors Later printings of the book also include an addendum called Mistakes We Knew We Were Making, which details some of the deliberate omissions and composite events that made the book flow easier. Film Adaptation In 2002, New Line Cinema bought the rights to adapt ABWoSG into a film. The screenplay was written by novelist Nick Hornby and screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis. Several directors have expressed an interest in the film but none has thus far signed-on and the fate of the film remains uncertain. Eggers has said that, if the film is made, he will be a producer. Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, A
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