Sadly, but also luckily, I suspect there will be few, if any, times in my life where it is appropriate to announce "You shall know our velocity.". So the four stars is for the imagination and the sense of humor and heartfelt insanity. There would always be more money round the corner?

In the world of the revised version, Will's memoirs were published six years earlier, and Hand has taken it upon himself to insert his own perspective immediately after the climax of the story.

Please try again later. You inhale. Nobody writes better than Dave Eggers about young men who aspire to be, at the same time, authentic and sincere.” —The New York Times Book Review“You Shall Know Our Velocity!

The protagonists -- Will and Hand -- are miserably slow and plodding.

The plot is both a log of the journey and a look into the mind of the narrator, Will. Oh, you'd rather give it to us bit by bit to keep up the suspense? I’m glad I read this although I had conflicting opinions all throughout the book.

DAVE EGGERS is the author of twelve books, including The Monk of Mokha; The Circle; Heroes of the Frontier; A Hologram for the King, a finalist for the National Book Award; and What Is the What, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle… More about Dave Eggers, “Headlong, heartsick and footsore…. And it makes me want to go traveling again. About You Shall Know Our Velocity In his first novel, Dave Eggers has written a moving and hilarious tale of two friends who fly around the world trying to give away a lot of money and free themselves from a profound loss. July 1st 2003

The book talks about two friends who have inherited money and are determined to visit some of the world’s poorest countries like Senegal and Morocco to give it away in person.

I bought "You Shall Know Our Velocity" based on my loving "What is the What", which was my first Eggers book. 1,656 reviews. Eggers is the co-founder of 826 National, a network of eight tutoring centers around the country and ScholarMatch, a nonprofit organization designed to connect students with resources, schools and donors to make college possible. Imaginative and colorful and funny. Buy.

In his first novel, Dave Eggers has written a moving and hilarious tale of two friends who fly around the world trying to give away a lot of money and free themselves from a profound loss. I thought the same was true for, I usually don’t blog books I don’t like, but You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers deserves special treatment because it proved such a disappointment.

The reasoning for this trip which is blamed on a recent loss of a friend falls flat and seems too farfetched though the adventur.

This includes creating a treasure map for children in Estonia and delivering a bouquet of flowers to a sleeping family in Senegal. Laughter a-plenty, beautiful prose, wonderfully executed dialogue, passages that you'll want to read back two, three, four times. As the novel opens, the narrator, Will, nonchalantly tells the reader that he is dead. Will and Hand agree that it is best not to go to the hospital, lest the attackers attempt to track them. Are you going to tell us what happened? Eggers must have had a great time writing this, his first novel.

The character were so, so naive. I think I probably finished the book because of that wonderful paper it is made of. The prolonged inners thoughts of Will are meant to explain his strange motivations, but leave the reader guessing what is really wrong with the guy. A strange one for me. ''You Shall Know Our Velocity'' is a lesser effort, but entirely honorable and ultimately persuasive. | ISBN 9780307426086 I could have lost 100 pages--esp.

It just needed an editor on board who, well, edited. Be the first to ask a question about You Shall Know Our Velocity!

One plan involves taping money to a donkey in a graph paper pouch that reads "HERE I AM ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE" and another creating a treasure map for Estonian children. Do you find things in normal everyday life hard to take, Holden Caulfield? Eggers composed some great passages, but these were interspersed with some awfully preachy writing that I found unappealing.

Buy, Nov 04, 2009 Is nothing working out for you? This is a fault I'm finding in a lot of contemporary writers like Michael Chabon and David Foster Wallace; as gifted as they are, they seem to lose their focus in the enjoyment of hearing/reading themselves. The addition, narrated by Hand, calls into question the reliability of the narrator, and, depending on which version is read, You Shall Know Our Velocity can be viewed as two different stories. The pair had delusional ambitions to use the money to save his life but t… This short story is featured in the collection How We Are Hungry: Stories (2004). You Shall Know has Eggers in top form. You must be the first person ever to feel pain!

Full of piss and vinegar, but with little to actually back it up. I found his regular-guy persona to be very charismatic, his commitment to the work of the "826" tutoring centers to be inspiring, and his enthusiasm for the written word to be refreshing. I do like how the 3 Eggers books I've read as of this moment have had very distinct vibes. And if you inhale the chaos, you give the chaos, the chaos gives back.”, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Readers' Most Anticipated Books of November. Their adventures are comical, and easy to relate to if you've ever gone on a trip with not much planning.

is a 2002 novel by Dave Eggers.

Shortly after receiving the sum, Will and Hand's mutual childhood friend, Jack, was involved in a car accident. And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? During Hand's absence, Will is brutally beaten by three men. I skimmed the last eighth of the novel and I doubt I missed anything.

He is the founder of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing company based in San Francisco that produces books, a quarterly journal of new writing (McSweeney’s Quarterly. But geez, where was the editor. Why should I care? It just needed an editor on board who, well, edited. The follow up to Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius falls short because it is much too dark, and the wit of random depressed thoughts by the main character do not feel genuine but contrived. Of course, interesting situations arise and the book keeps the reader entertained.

Did you experience a personal loss that you found painful? I haven’t finished it and I must tell you, the problem isn’t me. | ISBN 9781400033546 Shortly after receiving the sum, Will and Hand's mutual childhood friend, Jack, was involved in a car accident. The. I feeeeeel sooooooo baaaaaaaaad for you! There's something a little frustrating about Dave Eggers.

Really! Dave Eggers is the author of ten books, including most recently Your Fathers, Where Are They? Dave Eggers writes beautifully, yet his novel never seems to inspire any connection between the reader and the characters.

But geez, where was the editor.

I've found through Goodreads that my fatal weakness as a book-reviewer is that when I really like something, I o. I'm surprised I hadn't heard more about this one prior to picking it up.

The book was optioned by Process Productions, with Miguel Arteta attached to direct. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Welllllll.....What I loved about this book was the imagination, the humor, and the inspiration. After Jack's death, Will and Hand are asked to help go through Jack's possessions in a storage facility, where Hand decides to wander around and leaves Will.

The going later became so tedious, in fact, that I considered not finishing.

Usually, when school is out, and it is, I average about a week to a week and a half on any given book. The impetus for the trip seems to be the death of a childhood friend. in the last 1/4.

It isn't a horrible book, it is readable, but does not leave one feeling as if they have learned anything worth while. Hand also corrects one of the most startling scenes in Will's version, in which Will breaks down emotionally, claiming that Will was too shy to do such a thing. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Refresh and try again. The original version was narrated entirely by Will. I then realized that the version of the book I read was later revised, with an additional segment, with the major plot point. So consider the lack of substance here a testament to Eggers' astonishing achievement. I will start this by saying "I love Dave Eggers." Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=You_Shall_Know_Our_Velocity&oldid=982132593, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "We Like You So Much and Want to Know You Better" (2013), This page was last edited on 6 October 2020, at 10:30. Hand does say that Will's version was 85% true, though he did hate the title, renaming it "Sacrament".

In Sacrament, Hand alludes to the opening paragraph's being written by a ghostwriter.

McSweeney’s also publishes Voice of Witness, a nonprofit book series that uses oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world. The plot line seemed familiar, two young men, without plans traveling the world. He's definitely someone I'll keep reading. Will has surprisingly come into a large amount of money, around $32,000. Something about the fact that it's a true novel and not quite as self-indulgent and autobiographical.

The two remaining friends, the main Character who hasn't done much with his life and Hand, a good looking, risk taking, non motivated individual decide to give away a large sum of cash that the main character has acquired.

I skimmed the last eighth of the novel and I doubt I missed anything.