the general thrust of mr. eggers' very fine new book, besides fate's maddeningly random cruelties, is how mr. eggers and other media-savvy, well-educated young people make their way in the world: they fake it. by holding the roles fate forces them to play (parent, wage earner, mtv "real world" cast member) at arm's length, mr. eggers and his contemporaries mock and inhabit their lives at the same time, living compromised lives like everyone else, but paradoxically on their own terms we root for mr. eggers as he reinvents the role of parent in "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. ...it is mr. eggers' life-affirming cynicism and sense of irony that allow him to embrace his adult responsibilities.

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"well, there was a lot of solipsism to 'heartbreaking work.' the book itself talked about that, about the self-centeredness of people that age. it was supposed to be an indictment of that, too -- about how you're 25 and you truly think your thoughts and your goals are the main engine that keeps the world turning. and that's true and completely ludicrous at the same time. anyway, i think that's why so many first novels are either semi-autobiographical or baldly autobiographical, because at that age, you're really trying to figure out your own sense of self and what you are and what you mean to the world."
-dave eggers, salon article-