You Shall Know Our Velocity

Terrific book.Anyone who has traveled or has desire to should appreciate this book. Told (mostly) from a first person point of view, about two friends who travel east to "random" countries and give away money. Of course, details of the purpose of the trip and the money donating unfolds as you read on.The only draw back for me is about 2/3 or so into the book the writing shifts from one character to the other, which for me destroyed the pacing. I found the second's character's writing to be boring and uninteresting... but there isn't too much of it until we go back to the main character. I assume the intention was to shed a different light on the events and act as a sort of expository card to "clue us in" onto things and reveal facts otherwise unknown. Still, I feel that it could have done just as well without.Overall a great page-turner. I found myself reading in huge chunks and not wanting to put the book down. A fairly easy read and profanity aside, should cater to most age levels.Go Dave!!!

Will (the narrator) and Hand (the instigator) take off on a journey across the globe - arriving in Dakar, going to Morocco, shooting up to Eastern Europe - in an attempt to give cash to the world's underclass. The two young friends are haunted by the loss of their friend, Jack. Will especially is rocked existentially by the loss and the cash-giving becomes a chance to balance the universe.Needless to say, it's a weird story. Eggers is a product of the early-digital rumble of the 1990s. His story telling and snarky dialogue is a product of this. A bit of realism suffers from his quest for originality and sparkle. Would two young men really travel to the ends of the earth to give cash away to strangers? Maybe...but probably not.The parallels between YOU SHALL KNOW... and ON THE ROAD are there. Like Sal Paradise, Hand is a rogue and wildcard. The character of Hand is annoying. He seems like the last person you'd ever want to go on an international journey with.There is too much landscape description - as skilled as it is. There are too many pointless characters who wander in and out of the plot.All of this is redeemed by the poignancy of the last fifty pages of the book. The origin of the title is an interesting subplot and the themes that get developed are worthwhile.

I bought "You Shall Know Our Velocity" based on my loving "What is the What", which was my first Eggers book. I thought "What is the What" was really powerful stuff, well-written, gripping, a 5-star book all day. I realize this novel preceded that one and it definitely shows.As you probably know, the story centers on 2 friends, Will the narrator and 'Hand', who need to give away appx $32,000 in one week. They set off determined to travel the world trying to do so. Now to me, that sounds like a fun, wild caper of a tale. Something that should make a tremendous story, an epic trek. But unfortunately there's also their 3rd friend Jack, who has recently died. The aftermath of Jack's death is driving them in this desperation to get rid of the money.The characters came off depressing to me. The lead narrator Will is black-and-blued depressed, and not in the funny sort of neurotic way. His stream of consciousness/ conversations within his head were frankly too long and too frequent for my taste. I found them very irritating after awhile. Hand is supposed to be the cool guy/ good looking guy, but never really takes it to that next level. Sadly, I never got that sense of "Wow!" in this book.I will agree that there was some great writing here and there, a few memorable incidents, but overall I came away let down and uninspired. And SAD, which is not good - "What is the What" deals with horribly depressing events, but that left me feeling moved and emotional and touched to the core. But with YSKOV, not at all.

If you’ve ever travelled free, with a backpack and not too many plans, this will often feel very familiar. The strangeness, the confusion, the emotion. It’s not often you feel totally rudderless and this book captures that compellingly. If you’ve loved and hated and lost friends forever, this will feel familiar. If you’re not sure why we are here and why you have so much more than many on the planet, this will feel familiar. If you’ve felt insane joy at losing yourself in an experience, this will feel familiar.Highly recommend.

I want my money back. I'm reading along, enjoying a perfectly good novel, when suddenly the author breaks in and sabotages his own work. It's like buying a beautiful limited edition landscape, but, oh wait--you got one of the ones that, a year after they were released, the artist came back and put a big, black "X" over them with a Sharpie...because he thought it made a more interesting statement.Seriously, Dave Eggers did a real disservice, imho. In the most current version he has one of the characters interrupt halfway through to say "oh--this character? Doesn't exist. This one? Already dead. The whole thread of the narrative you're reading? Total BS. Well, get back and enjoy the book!" Which might have been okay if he hadn't done this a year after the book had already been published.Honestly, I tried to continue beyond that, and actually did for another 100 pages, but the damage had been done. I skimmed the rest to ensure I wasn't missing some brilliant literary twist (I wasn't), and sadly gave up.If the title of your edition has an exclamation point at the end, don't--do not--read Hand's little "addendum" in the middle of the book. Come back later if you must, if you'd like a little "Life of Pi" twist; but, sorry Dave: your revision didn't "Pi" this book--it made it unworthy of being read.

With a hologram for the king already under my belt it was a pleasure to pick up another Dave Eggers novel and find it equally absorbing. Two crazy but believable characters act out their dreams and disasters in an unlikely quest which on the surface is about unloading as much of their newly found wealth as possible whilst tripping around the world. Seen through the eyes of the main character, Will ;this is a journey that raises questions about guilt ,fate ,death, responsibility and how we live together .It may not give you any clear answers but I was captivated by its overall sense of zest and its celebration of life.

Great item

This is an odd sort of book. It switches between being a story about 2 friends' adventures as they travel remote parts of the world to a psychoanalysis of the main character, Will. It is the latter that at times lets the book down, the bizaree workings of his mind taking up huge chunks of the narration.The relationship between Will and his companion Hand is explored and is a strong point of the book.Overall it's a good effort though, and I'd certainly recommend it.

I failed to bond with either of the main characters in this book (frankly I found them irritating to the point of wanting to shake them) - but oddly that did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the storyline. In many ways, the boys story of their attempt to travel the globe while disposing of unwanted money felt real, despite the being bizarre. (I suppose a moral could be that life is a series of missed flight connections, miscommunication, and frustrated ambitions - no matter where you are or what you're trying to do.)It's not a book I would read again - and I'd hesitate to recommend it as light reading to anyone, but as a diverting way of experiencing the failings of others for a few hours it meets the need.

You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers ist eine Story von zwei Freunden die um die Welt fliegen und ihr Geld versuchen loszuwerden, ist eine lustige aber auch sehr reflektierende Story, nur zu empfehlen