You shall know our velocity – Dave Eggers

Hi all!

When I started this book I was really hyped, after roughly 30 pages it got to my heart, I connected to the main character and I was reading it as I got time. But somehow with reading at some point everything got slower and although I was still connected to the character, I knew it will end to abruptly because the number of unread pages was getting smaller and smaller. I was a bit disappointed in the end to be honest, but overall I would consider it a good book.

So what’s it about? The story revolves around one guy who gets some money by (you could say) luck and decides he doesn’t want them and takes a fiend in a tour around a world to get rid of them. Another side of the story would be a psychological one, which involves the two travelers and another of their friends. It’s all well intertwined, with the present combining with the past like in a well made movie.

The book got to me due to two perspectives. First of all the whole state of the main personage which is fed up with all this materialism in society and he is upset on how the world is going. I am probably not the only one which acknowledges that the world is a cruel and unfair place and some of the people have and easy life because of luck and some don’t. I also feel like life was unfair and I was privileged so it was easy to relate to the traveler. Second it’s the idea of going around the world, one idea which stays in the back of my head and it made me start planning a trip (but damn it’s complicated).

As a conclusion, I would recommend the book. If you liked into the wild you definitely need to read this one. If you didn’t, if you are happy with the society we now have and think that everyone has the same chances in life you will probably not be able to relate to the characters, but I still would consider reading this as a good experience.

You might come to hate at some point the main character or his friend but a good book is not one that let’s you smile all the way, am I right?

Until next time,

Simion