They go to the beach. They throw balls. Eggers describes the experience of going to a school open-house night as a young man in his early 20s, surrounded by dreary parents in their 40s. Eggers made a conscious decision to try to balance his life so he didn't end up bitter and martyred about living with his brother. The material about Toph and Dave's family is moving.
Eggers has a distinct voice and something to say.
But the book bogs down in other areas. While in San Francisco, Eggers and some friends from high school found a magazine called Might , which briefly made a splash. It spoke to people in their 20s and mocked the cult of celebrity worship. Unfortunately, reading how he persuaded former child star Adam Rich of Eight Is Enough to pretend he had been murdered and then to show up at a San Francisco magazine party is less than compelling. Nor is the editors' struggle to get funding.