Your Fathers, Where Are They, And the Prophets,Do They Live Forever? -- Dave Eggers
Vintage Books
240 Pages
This week’s book has quite a long title. It actually may be the longest part of the book. Your Fathers, Where Are They, And the Prophets,Do They Live Forever? by Dave Eggers is just as weird as the title, but it is highly entertaining and makes the reader think. From the same mind that brought us, The Circle, Eggers questions everything we know about our modern times.
Thomas is our main character. He is struggling to understand his place in the world, and why it all hasn’t turned out the way he’s hoped. He questions everything that has hastened the perceived downfall of American culture. So, to answer those questions, Thomas kidnaps people who he thinks may have the answers and holds them hostage to answer for it. Ironically considering his questions of what has happened to his beloved United States, Thomas holds them captive in an abandoned military base along the ocean side.
The most interesting thing about this book is that it is written entirely in dialogue. It can be mildly confusing, especially since there are no quotation marks throughout the book whatsoever. Sometimes the conversation switches back and forth so quickly that the reader and easily get confused. Still, it is an intriguing premise to writing a book. Once I got used to it, it really was quite entertaining.
This novel questions all that we know about our country, and asks those questions some of us may have but are afraid to ask. Dave Eggers, with his often unique style of writing, explores everything we take for granted, breaks it down into its most basic form, and rebuilds it into a narrative that makes it question everything we know.
If you’re not ready for an in-your-face look at the way we live our lives, this unorthodox look at that very thing may not be the book for you. If, however, you question authority as well as reality as you think you know it, this might just be the book for you.
While this review is fairly short, the actual book is very short, also. With it being written entirely in dialogue, the storyline gets straight to the point and leaves no time to catch your breath. Dave Eggers, with Your Fathers, Where are They, And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? Will make you rethink all that you know is true. While most of us would never kidnap people to get the answers to life, we want the questions that remain unanswered to finally be addressed. Eggers puts it in your face and attempts to do that with this book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read and who loves to question authority. In his nearly inimitable way, Dave Eggers continues to make us think. For a short book, there is a lot of punch in those few pages. You could read this book and The Circle and get a whole new outlook on life in general.
Next Week: Lay Down Your Weary Tune -- W.B. Belcher
Craig Bacon questions everything. Just because I said this book was great, don’t take my word for it. Read it yourself and make your own conclusions.