Dave Eggers

One man struggles to make sense of his country, seeking answers the only way he knows how.

Your Fathers, Where Are They? and the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?

Loved this, as I usually do with Eggers. The dialogue only format was really interesting and different. 

Georgie Wishart

Trever

I would say this book is great, but I feel like I can't. Since the book is written entirely in dialogue, every page is playing devil's advocate for one side or another. The plot itself is well-made, and the book is well-written, but any larger societal point (which it almost seems like Dave is trying to make) isn't clearly put across. Based on his last few books, it makes me wonder if anyone told Dave that he needs to back off the criticism a bit.

From Dave Eggers, best-selling author of The Circle, a tour de force of dialogue and dark humor, coursing emotions and tight control. Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? is the formally daring, brilliantly executed story of one man struggling to make sense of his country, seeking solutions the only way he knows how. What do you do when you're full of questions: what happened to missions to the moon? Why spend a trillion dollars on war? Where did America go wrong? If you're Thomas, a young man nursing migraines and a lack of direction, this calls for drastic action. To find some answers, Thomas kidnaps a NASA astronaut and brings him to an abandoned military base on the edge of the California coast. Then the questioning begins. The answers must be honest. The back and forth might even hurt. It might get uncomfortable. But eventually the truth will emerge.

Anina

This book was nice. It only consisted of dialogue, which was very interesting. The plot was okay, although I would have liked a bit of more background info to understand better how Thomas became who he is. 
The ending was fine as well. I really don’t like open endings, because instead of finding them amazing and inspiring usually it just makes me feel like the author didn’t really know either how to end it or was just too lazy to write it down.
This ending wasn’t really open, but it wasn’t really closed either. Something weird in the middle, and I definitely would’ve liked an epilogue.

Daryl Houston

A friend recommended the audio version of this book but I got the print version. I liked it a lot even in print. It's serious, angry, and funny (with a touch of what's good in George Saunders here and there, I think), and it resonated on a number of frequencies for me. It's also a quick read, one that I could imagine going back to sometime between other books.

Hannah Lee

Michael McBride

Szymon

Jay Harris

Ben Radford

Taylor

Toby Fehily

Kathy Rodger 

Maggie Horikawa

Carol

'Does it feel weird to be chained to a post?' In Building 52 at an abandoned military base miles from anywhere a NASA astronaut wakes to find he's been kidnapped. A man named Thomas says they know each other, but the astronaut doesn't remember him. Thomas insists he'll come to no harm - if he just answers a few questions. But when Thomas doesn't get the answers he's looking for he knows just what to do . . . What has driven Thomas to this desperate act? What is it he is trying to find or understand? And how will it end? 'Alert, quick-witted and dogma-averse. Eggers works hard to surprise, challenge and confound. A writer on the best kind of roll.' Daily Telegraph 'An angry and astute investigation into the state of America. Politically and polemically engaged in the tradition of Dickens and Zola.' Guardian 'One of America's most creatively restless and socially reactive novelists.' Metro 'Eggers can write about pretty much anything and make it glitter and somersault on the page . . . dazzling and highly original.' Michiko Kakutani, New York Times 'Possibly the most admired and emulated American author of his generation.' Independent

Gabriel Jönsson

Deanna Kendall

Brianna Best

Matthew Washburn

Your Fathers, Where Are They is Dave Eggers's brilliantly executed story of one man struggling to make sense of the world. In a barracks on an abandoned military base, miles from the nearest road, Thomas watches as the man he has brought wakes up. Kev, a NASA astronaut, doesn't recognize his captor, though Thomas remembers him. Kev cries for help. He pulls at the chain. But the ocean is close by, and nobody can hear him over the waves and wind. Thomas apologizes. He didn't want to have to resort to this. But they really needed to have a conversation, and Kev didn't answer his messages. And now, if Kev can just stop yelling, Thomas has a few questions. 'With each tightly controlled book, Eggers's fiction becomes more prescient, moving and unsettling . . . Even if all generations are lost generations, we need engaged, incendiary novels which ask: What now?' Independent 'An angry and astute investigation into the state of America . . . Politically and polemically engaged in the tradition of Dickens and Zola' Mark Lawson, Guardian 'One of our fiercest and most compelling writers' Sunday Times

Your Fathers, Where Are They? and the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?

Reviews