A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

First published: 2000

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Autobiographical

Time of plot: 1990s

Locales: Primarily in Berkeley and San Francisco, California

Principal Characters

Dave Eggers, a young writer who must care for his younger brother when their parents die

Beth Eggers, his older sister, who is in law school

Bill Eggers, his older brother, who is largely absent from the family

Toph Eggers, his younger brother, who is seven when their parents die

The Story

Dave Eggers is twenty-one years old and busy taking care of his dying mother in Illinois. His sister, Beth, and brother Bill are there to help, but they spend much of their time arguing over who will take care of the house and their younger brother, Toph, once their mother has died. The mother refuses to go to the hospital, despite having had her stomach removed because of cancer. The plot also reveals that Dave’s father has recently died. Thirty-two days after Dave’s father dies, his mother dies too, and Dave decides to relocate with Toph to San Francisco to be near Beth, who is a law student.

In California, and excited about their new life, Dave and Toph drive to Montara Beach, south of San Francisco, for a day. Dave stops at a nude beach along the way, attempting to be spontaneous and show Toph an adventure. However, when issues of reality intercede, such as the entry cost to the beach and the fact that it will be filled with old men, his responsible nature kicks in, and he decides against it. At Montara Beach, the boys play Frisbee, and Dave teases Toph.

With Toph’s Social Security money, Dave rents a home near his sister’s in Berkeley. The boys slide across the floor in their socks and wrestle, but Dave also sets up some basic rules. The brothers go to the open house at Toph’s school, hoping to appear like a normal family; instead, they arrive late and feel out of place. Also, whenever Dave talks to the school parents, they inevitably learn about the family’s tragedy, causing Dave to feel awkward. Dave teases Toph that he is going to find an attractive single mother to date, but after the open house, Dave feels increasingly uncomfortable about dating and his inability to go out at night with friends. Toph tells Dave that he should date and that Dave is using their family situation as an excuse not to get close to women.

Despite his reservations, one night Dave hires a babysitter for Toph and heads to a bar. While he wants to have fun, he obsesses over Toph, imagining the babysitter tying his brother up and murdering him. Meanwhile, Dave meets a woman at the bar and connects with her, and they go to the beach together. While at the beach, he mistakenly thinks his wallet has been stolen and rushes home, only to find it there.

Dave and his friends decide to use his limited financial resources to start a magazine, which they name Might. He wants Might to support people who are trying to change the world. Dave spends almost all of his time at the magazine and working temporary jobs. Frustrated, he applies to be on the reality show The Real World, believing it will help the magazine succeed. At the interview for the show, he reveals more about his difficult life, including the fact that his father was an alcoholic.

Although Dave does not get on The Real World, a cast member from the show begins to work at Might. The employees do a nude photo shoot for the next issue. However, Might fails to make money. Furthermore, the office is filthy, so Dave relocates it. The staff decides to work on a cover story about "the future."

Meanwhile, Dave learns that his friend John is suicidal. He rushes to John’s house, and although John seems fine, he calls the police. John swallows a handful of pills and has to be taken to the hospital, where he and Dave argue. Dave reveals that he is secretly jealous of John for not having as many responsibilities as he has.

Dave finds an apartment in San Francisco close to Toph’s school. When Bill Clinton eats lunch nearby one day, he rushes Toph to the restaurant, hoping that his brother will one day become president and remember this moment. During this time, Dave gets a kidney stone, and he spends the entire ride to the hospital scared that he will die and no one will take care of Toph.

Dave begins to worry that Toph spends too much time with people in their twenties, and when he sees Toph’s school picture, in which Toph is not smiling, he becomes paranoid about his parenting. Dave’s life is further upset when his friend Shalini has a serious injury and falls into a coma.

In another scene, when Dave cannot find Toph after a bar mitzvah, he panics; when he finally finds Toph, he yells at him, then takes him to Beth’s house. Feeling stressed, Dave brings home a random woman to have sex with, only to have Toph walk in on them and become upset.

Shalini recovers from the coma, but things fall apart once more when Might receives negative publicity for persuading actor Adam Rich to fake his death so that the magazine can report the story.

Dave returns to his hometown in Illinois to attend a wedding and confronts his past, feeling unsatisfied. He does, however, receive his mother’s ashes. When he returns to California, he attempts to enroll Toph in a new school, but he faces several obstacles because the school does not believe he is the legal guardian. He then takes Toph to the beach, where, reflecting on the failure of Might and all of his other problems, he decides he must leave California with Toph and start a new life.

Bibliography

Rothenberg, Marc. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." Magill’s Literary Annual 2001 (2001): 1–3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

Smith, Sidonie, and Julia Watson. "The Rumpled Bed of Autobiography: Extravagant Lives, Extravagant Questions." Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly 24.1 (2001): pxxiv. Literary Reference Center. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Vidar, Sara. "Dave Eggers." Guide to Literary Masters and Their Works (2007): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.