Heroes of the Frontier

I have read and loved other books by Dave Eggers (i.e., What Is the What and Hologram for the King) and was anticipating a good, engaging read. Instead I found a saga of unappealing characters and creepy circumstances that I didn't want inside my head! (Lots of references to s***, for example: Carl's unruly bowels; the guy who liked to smell it on his finger; emptying out the waste from the RV...) I can sort of understand the larger theme(s) and was vaguely curious as to how it would end, and I suppose it was meant to be more allegorical than credible, but I eventually just grew tired and bored and by the last chapter or two had resorted to dutifully skimming just to get through it, not at all the reading experience I'd hoped for. There is an attempt to be lyrical and uplifting in the final paragraph, but I was vaguely depressed by then. This is one of those cases where I am completely baffled by some of the rave reviews I've seen. Despite Eggers' talent as a writer, this book just doesn't work. So disappointing!

If you like Dave Eggers’ book(s) you’ll enjoy this one too. I love how he moves the stories along with strong character development. The story hints at stories underneath and he unfolds those stories as he goes.

Rambling book about an very troubled and unpleasant woman and her poor kids. Not a travelog for Alaska, that is for sure. (spoiler) The silly ending was the topper. Wish I had my time and money back.

Being the Dave Eggers fan I am, I started reading this book hours shortly after it arrived on my Kindle at midnight last night - from a pre-order many months prior.
Immediately, my thoughts were "I'm so happy"!!! "Oh....I'm enjoying this"...."Damn, this is good....I'm so excited!!!!!" "It's good, it's good! It's GOOD!!!!!

The surroundings - geography - wilderness - environment as the backdrop of this story is entrancing.

Josie has just arrived in Anchorage, Alaska with her two children, Paul and Ana.
Josie lost her dentist practice after being sued by a patient's family for not diagnosing oral cancer to a woman name Evelyn, whose condition is terminal. Josie is also grieving the loss of another patient who she supported when he wanted to go overseas and serve the country. He died.
She also didn't tell Carl, the kids father that she was leaving Ohio, crossing the state line. Whether or not it was illegal, she hadn't checked. Carl and Josie never married...but it didn't take long for Carl to marry after Josie asked him to move out. Carl is living in Florida with his new wife.
Wow....I'd say right from the start....Josie could be on the brink of collapse....and now she is going to be a single parent - of two 'small' children in unfamiliar territory...in tight quarters to boot. Risky...and scary!

With three thousand dollars cash on Josie - ( in a velvet bag)...Josie was hoping she was untraceable, untrackable. She rented an RV- "the Chateau", .....( ha, -more broken down than luxury), for three weeks from an older-retired man- and planned to visit a stepsister, Sam.
Josie had never been to Alaska but she was craving a plainspoken and linear existence
centered around work, trees, and the sky.
"She wanted no more of the useless drama of life. If theatrics were necessary, fine. If a human were ascending a mountain, and on that accent there were storms and avalanches and bolts of lightning from angry skies, then she could except drama, participate in drama. But suburban drama was so tiresome, so absurd on its face, that she could no longer be around anyone who thought it real or worthwild".

Josie's description of Carl is funny and pathetic. A handsome guy with long lashes and green eyes, full of energy, never had a steady job- he played kickball...rode bikes to get ice cream, his libido was unstoppable, -and he was four years younger than her. At 27 years old he was a man- child. There's more to Carl and his background ...but what's important to know, is that Josie was happy to be away from him. "Stasis had been killing her". At age 40, Josie is free from of human entanglements. "But could she really be reborn in a land of mountains and light? It was a long shot"

The two children are as different as night and day. Paul, 8 years old....is calm, reasonable, composed, sensitive, his patience was astounding, mature, thoughtful, maternal, and honest. He takes care of Ana...like a personal assistant -and best friend.
He cares for people more than things and is wounded deeply by the thought of any suffering endured by any living soul.

Ana, 5 years of age, is often bumping into things or breaking plates - she wakes up in the morning ecstatic and goes to bed reluctantly. ....As for caring about others feelings, she really doesn't care.

There was a scene when soon after Josie, Paul, and Ana pulled into Homer ---where they were going to soon meet Sam the stepsister ( ha) ...they stopped to eat at
"Political Pizza Place". It didn't take Ana long to break the towel rack in the bathroom - for this '5' year old CHILD....
BUT....
It also didn't take long for Josie to down her third Chardonnay --slurring her words on a Monday afternoon ....basically intoxicated!
Is it me.... or should we worry?
The RV was parked across the way... Thank God, Josie (THE ADULT in this family)...
'Walked' back to the RV... slept off her 'state-of-being' while the kids watched a video of Tom and Jerry.
There 'were' scary moments...when it could have been easy to sit back and judge Josie for her choices --possibly putting her children in danger.... but in actuality she gave her children gifts. The kids witness their mom struggle with difficult emotions and transition .....but they were each uncovering their authentic selves --facing curves life throws at them with more strength and responsibility.

Throughout the story....Josie is looking back... thinking about Carl, her parents, ( they had been nurses at a hospital), her childhood ...musicals at home as a child- awareness of Vietnam...addiction realities, ---( grief of her own recent situations)...
AND.... Josie is looking forward - looking to the future -- living in the present.

Dave Eggers wrote a terrific - enjoyable new novel!!!! I'm left with my own thought....
from when a time - years ago- when I left the country for two years....
I wasn't sure if I was running away from my life -or searching for explore and see the world. A little of both! What I did learn is....."I take myself with me no matter where I go".

Dave Eggers crafted a fulfilling novel .....and perhaps an important path to understanding ourselves and finding inner peace.

*EXCERPT:
"There is proud happiness, happiness born at doing work in light of day, years of worthwhile labor, and afterward being tired, and content, and surrounded by family and friends, bathed in satisfaction and ready for a deserved rest – – sleep or death, it would not matter."

"Then there is happiness of one's personal slum. The happiness of being alone, and tipsy on red wine, in the passenger seat of an ancient recreational vehicle parked somewhere in Alaska's deep south, staring into a scribble of black trees, afraid to go to sleep for fear that at any moment someone will get past the toy lock on the RV door and murder you and your two small children sleeping above".

My most boring book since ... can't remember

The story: Woman (with two kids) has trouble at home. Runs away to Alaska. Rents motorhome. Drives (a little) through Alaska. Meets people here and there. Wanders through the woods. Meets some people. Wanders again. Motorhome destroyed by fire. End of story.

Thank you, Mr Eggers. For future books: No, thanks.

My most boring book since ... can't remember

The story: Woman (with two kids) has trouble at home. Runs away to Alaska. Rents motorhome. Drives (a little) through Alaska. Meets people here and there. Wanders through the woods. Meets some people. Wanders again. Motorhome destroyed by fire. End of story.

Thank you, Mr Eggers. For future books: No, thanks.

The story will be very interesting then the author starts describing something that goes on and on for pages. Then jumps back to the story. Ending is abrupt with no clue as to what happens to any of the characters.

Snakes???Frogs??? Not in the Interior. A bit too much of a fairy tale...stumbling on not one but two perfect little cottages...Gas stations when she needed them...that tank must have held 300 gallons LOL. Towns with neighborhood parades with "hundreds" of ppl??
Hey Dave have you even been in the Interior?
I wanted to like this book for obvious reasons...just couldn't handle the dissonance.
Next time-fact check.
Her chances of survival given the challenges are nil...
The "Happy Ending" was way too trite.
I was a homesteader in the Copper River Valley-squatting is usually met with a shotgun...
I don't know if she was a Hero or a screwed up Bi Polar wreck.

In HEROES OF THE FRONTIER, Dave Eggers turns the narrative of western exploration and adventure on its head, giving a single mother and her two children the opportunity for self-discovery, reinvention and danger amid the Alaskan wilds.

Josie’s biggest problem (and she has a lot of them) is that she has never been content to simply occupy the life she is living. She has never been comfortable in her own skin or satisfied with her own lot. Instead, her vivid imagination always works overtime, envisioning all the countless future possibilities she is being denied by virtue of having only a single life to live. At times, having been raised on a steady diet of Broadway show tunes, she imagines life’s absurdities as if they’ve been scored by Rogers and Hammerstein or Sondheim, dreaming up the plot for lavish productions like “Norway!”or “Disappointed: The Musical.”

Right now, Josie is taking a rare opportunity (at least since she “settled down” as an adult) to seize one of those alternative futures. Emotionally, professionally and financially devastated by a series of tragedies and scandals, Josie sets off on a whim for Alaska, taking her children --- eight-year-old Paul and five-year-old Ana --- without telling their no-good dad where they’re going. On the surface of things, she’s going to visit her quasi-stepsister, Sam. But along the way, she begins to wonder if she isn’t looking for something different, something bigger.

The Alaska that Josie, Paul and Ana discover is a place of beauty, but it’s also a place of violence, both natural and man-made. They encounter guns, arrows, threats and cruise ships full of self-centered Americans. As they travel the highways in an RV that has seen better days, their explorations are curtailed by the threat of forest fire, as countless infernos ring the area.

But despite all this, despite Josie’s cynicism and near-hopelessness at times, she is still struck more than once by the feeling that this escape, this time away from ordinary life and its limitations and expectations, is exactly what she and her children, both old-before-his-time Paul and impetuous Ana, need at this moment in their lives. Is it possible that this whim of a trip is actually offering them something far grander and more important than even she ever imagined? Josie watches her children play, free of time limits, homework and extracurricular activities, and thinks to herself, “This was the common criminal pursuit of all contemporary humankind. Give my child an Ikea desk and twelve hours a day of sedentary typing. This will mean success for me, them, our family, our lineage. She would not pursue this. She would not subject her children to this. They would not seek these specious things, no. It was only about making them loved in a moment in the sun.”

HEROES OF THE FRONTIER is full of profound moments like this, many of them reflections on parenting, maturing, and letting go of some dreams while grasping others. It’s also, however, full of small details, offbeat scenes and genuine hilarity, making it a novel that, like the Alaskan frontier, can both reward and surprise around every turn.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Inconsistent facts mar the narrative. For instance, someone declares that it's September, and a few pages later we're told it's August. Another example: her son is sitting in the passenger seat, but then she looks at him in the rear-view mirror like he's in the back seat. Why did someone not catch these bizarre lapses?

This reads more like an outline than a full-fledged novel. The mother is faceless and the kids are cliched. You'd think descriptions of Alaska's nature would be detailed, but they're sketchy at best. And the whole impetus of the trip, that she's fleeing after a breakup, makes her seem weak and airheaded, completely out of character for a dentist.

Anyway, I stopped reading halfway through because the book was wasting my time. (How many more things went wrong with the RV? Who cares?)

I enjoy Dave Eggers' books usually. Heroes of the Frontier was not even interesting. About half way through I searched for reviews hoping to find some redeeming value to watch for, but found nothing. I believe the book should have been titled How Not to Raise Your Children. In the Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers is thrust into parenting his younger brother. He is fearful of leaving him with a babysitter; way overprotective. Josie, in Heroes, is 180 degrees--permissive. She is paranoid of losing her children, but continues to make poor choices that actually endanger them. I would love to know what the author was trying to say. Don't give up on Dave Eggers, but pass on this book.

Dave Eggars has long been one of my favourite authors, but after reading this book, I feel I need to reevaluate all his previous books. This story takes place in Alaska and as a person who has lived in Alaska for over 40 years, I can assure you not one single moment of this story feels authentic in its setting. I understand the idea of dramatic license, but when the author can't even get simple and obvious details correct, it just feels sloppy. For instance, if Mr. Eggars had taken even a cursory glance at any map, he would know that Alaska is not connected to any other state, hence--THERE ARE NO INTERSTATES IN ALASKA!!!. Even a simple minded ninny like Josie would know the difference between a highway and an interstate. Also, there are no crickets, no snakes, no high school lacrosse teams--all things that crop up in the course of this story. As for the characters--they all seem like pitiful people doing pitiful things pitifully. Mr. Eggars clearly has as little understanding of the female psyche as he does of basic geography. A very disappointing read.

As a current 44 year resident of Alaska, including most of that time living in Homer, one of the principal towns mentioned in this book, I can conclusively say that it is littered throughout with inaccurate information. Homer has no pine trees (they're spruce), crickets, or singing frogs. The sport of lacrosse is not played in Alaska, as Eggers claims two schoolgirls do; there is no interstate highway, nor any road extending around the northwestern portion of the state, or any road whatsoever in western Alaska that connects to the highway system. Interior Alaska has no 8-point deer, only moose, a member of the deer family, but hardly the same thing. When driving out of Homer, one does not have to decide which direction to head. The ONLY highway leads north. I could go on, but but the point I'm trying to make is that Eggers' portrayal of the state is just so wrong that it pissed me off! I would suggest Mr. Eggers do a little research before writing his next book.
Furthermore, the story of is book was disappointing. Josie, the principal character, continues to make one poor choice after another, often imperiling her children in the process. Finally, I could not feel sympathetic, or even care, what happened.

Dave Eggers is certainly back doing what he does best – telling stories with intense deep characterization in landscapes that are seemingly fantastic buried within the realm of realities most of us can’t even imagine. Heroes of the Frontier tells the story of Josie, a woman whose various choices in life led her to feel imprisoned in her Dentist practice and after a series of relationship issues with a man-child…so she gives it all up and makes an impulsive decision to leave, rent an RV in the wilds of Alaska, and start entirely anew with her two children Paul and Ana.

This book is truly a masterpiece that opens the new chapter in Eggers’ writing career, a book that continues his triumph of prose, humor, characterization, adventure, and wonders, and manages to intersperse touching interrelationship commentary and complexity of human emotion with the freight train speed of an excellent narrative. As the small family hurdles down the tracks of their destiny under the pressures of raging Alaskan wildfires, they are deconstructed - stripped of their decorum and existence into an animalistic new reality in a dangerous natural world that the trio is startlingly prepared for.

One of Eggers’ best works, and certainly stepping off into a new world of wonders in his career. As always, I am excited to follow him to where he goes next.

I wonder if the selection of a troubled dentist as protagonist for Dave Eggers’ novel, Heroes of the Frontier, will attract more readers (like dentists) or repel readers (like those who hate going to dentists). Protagonist Josie lost her dental practice due to her malpractice on a patient. She has split up with the father of her children, and when he wants the children to meet his fiancée’s parents, Josie takes the kids to the Alaska wilderness in an RV they call the Chateau. The novel is a search for shelter and refuge, from threats real and imagined. Josie’s troubles come from external sources and from inside her mind. With nothing left to lose, Josie takes her children to the last frontier where they are totally unprepared for what life and nature brings. In this novel Eggers has added to his ongoing examination of human folly and modern life. Readers ready for a dark story are those most likely to enjoy reading this one.

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

This is a great piece of fiction. A totally riveting story about a lady dentist who packs up her little boy and girl and heads out to the wilds of Alaska in a decrepit rented RV. She's leaving civilization because a disgruntled patient sued her for not detecting cancer in her mouth during a routine exam. Not only will the adventures of this trio keep you riveted to the story, but you will be charmed by the way Eggers fleshes out his characters. This is especially a treat for those of us whose only experience with Eggers is "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." I was surprised to find out that not only is Eggers a master of the memoir, but he is also an exceptional novelist.

After loosing her dental practices due to a patient's lawsuit, Josie leaves her normal routine and goes on a 3-week trip with the children, Paul and Ana. Without any planning, the family leave without informing the children's father and embark on their Alaskan adventure in a RV.

By only using cash, Josie hopes to stay under the radar of the children's father and anyone else who may be looking for her.

Among the many surprises, the family escapes from a deadly wild fire and camps out in an abandoned cabin. During the trip, Josie spend much time reflecting on her life and the decisions she has made. As well, the children seem to cope well without structured plans and are able to make their own fun.

Thank you GoodReads for the book.

Heroes of the Frontier is a road novel. The central conceit of the book is will this poor family survive the mother's idiotic decisions? The plot is just a steep descent. Josie, the protagonist, is inadvertently a horrible parent. She is supposed to be educated, a dentist. But I kept saying,"No, don't Josie" as I read about her predicaments. I didn't sense any growth toward self- awareness as the family left a safe haven, broke into cabins or ran from a forest fire. She obviously loved her children, but was too self-absorbed to be a good parent. The book seems to be saying that some people shouldn't have kids.

Very disappointed in this book. I was reading this as part of some research on treatment of Alaskan settings in fiction, and this was the most unbelievable work thus far. I don't live in Alaska, but just from having visited various parts of the state for four weeks last year, I feel as though I have a better knowledge of Alaska than this author---or any of the editors.

Lack of musical knowledge is glaring. I know there is technically a note called B-sharp. It is a half step up from B. The name of that note is normally C. So glad I didn't pay money for this book--checked this book out via library e-book loan.

Every few chapters I would again have to remind myself that the author is not a woman. Though a 3rd-person narrative, we are stealthily led through the complex thought-processes of the protagonist and her intimate observations of her children. I truly believed in the realistic, physical existence of the fictional young people. If you are like most of us and require loose ends to be tidily connected at tales end, this novel may not be for you. Many of my guesses at plot direction were left unaddressed. This would normally rankle, but because of the characters' emotional development and healing, those mysteries only left me thinking about the story longer than if all were sewn up nice and neat.

This was a horrendous book. She leaves the father of her children's because he defecates a lot! Really! Then has random sex with strangers in front of her kids. She commits crimes to the point that she encourages her young son that it is his idea to break into someone's private residence. And the best part, she takes her very young children on a hike in the wilderness in the middle of a forest fire! Just awful. I could go on but.....I guess I would have saved time watching reality TV. I may have to quit reading books altogether if they all become this bad.

I really liked the characters and was highly entertained for most of the book, but kept waiting for the central conflict to materialize. Never did. Can sum up the book as follows: Mom who is worried about her child-rearing skills drives around Alaska with her kids. Period. Nothing else happens. Though she does have a pretty interesting interior life... this book was entertaining, but doesn't really evolve in a satisfying way.

Really disappointed as I love his writing and have liked other books. I did not like the lead character and could not relate to her or her disastrous decision making which seemed to have no forethought and no rationale. I found myself feeling very conservative and stuffy as I was not amused by her casually breaking into cabins, wasting money, foolish choices. Not a very good role model for her children, to say the least. I know this is supposed to be a picaresque novel of americana but to me it was just annoying and I was glad when it was over!

I LOVE Dave Eggers and actually bought this book hard cover to sit and enjoy. Disappointing. I did make it to the end of the book but had to force myself, and hope Eggers had a surprise twist ending. but no...

The mother and kids wander aimlessly in this book. It was painful to watch them blow in the wind. I was waiting for consequences for her lack of focus, lack of direction, a moral lesson, a message - but no. (SPOILER: ) in the end they wind up ( SURPRISE SURPRISE ) in the fire that has been raging since page 1.

Truly atrocious! Do not waste your money. The author went to some lengths to make the main character, a single mother with 2 small children, a professional woman, look negligent, stupid, mentally unhinged, and virtually criminally negligent to her children. I was offended by this portrayal of her which featured stream of consciousness rants by her that are more likely the figment of imagination of a man with no respect for women. The end of the book made the father of the children who left them and had little contact with them at all look like the sane one. Of course! There were no heroic acts in this book.

Well, I just loved this book. Other reviewers say not much happens, but tons of things happen, and all the while we figure out what makes Josie tick. Clearly she has literally and figuratively gone round the mend and her kids are along for the ride.
Well written, descriptive, I feel as if I was actually along for the wild ride through Alaska.
Highly recommend.

Dave Eggers has always been one of my favorite authors. He is an excellent writer, develops characters fully and provides his readers with a unique view of American culture. Unfortunately, Heroes of the Frontier left me flat. I did not feel that Josie was much different at the end of the book and certainly not a hero. She was still thinking only of herself and not her children. Paul and Ana should have been in school and not placed in continually dangerous situations of their mother's making. I kept hoping that this flight to Alaska would bring her redemption and focus. I was also bothered by the on-going anal references to sex and defecation. A Hologram for the King did not end happily, but I felt empathy for Alan Clay's despair and frustration over events both in and out of his control. I did not have that same feeling for Josie.

I was continuously engaged by the exotic location (Alaska), the uncertainty of the story line, and the realness of the characters. Although I questioned the main character's initial impulses, I was drawn in by her history. As I finished, I was wishing for more, which is very unusual for me. Try it!

My title pretty much sums up my thoughts. Fun read and Dave is an interesting writer who's wordplay is always entertaining. My main complaint is that after finishing the book I'm not very emotionally vested in Josie & her kids, I'm left wanting more. Maybe he planned it that way, I'm not sure. My favorite Eggers book is still, What is the What - go read that book first.

Reading "Heroes of the Frontier" catapults a person into the mind and heart of its protagonist, Josie, a nearly-forty single mother, a failed professional, a restless American, a woman desperately searching for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. I turned each page with wonder: How does Eggers -- a man -- KNOW the tumble of thoughts one has while drinking wine and watching one's children sleep? Who told Eggers how it feels to grind against the constant push to BE something important, DO something important, and yet still stare at empty hands? Above all, how did he gain so much insight into the constant tumultuous rush of emotion, the gamut from joy to despair and back, and the sneaking sense that the world might mean nothing, after all? Josie's conflicts are mine -- and the conflicts of many women I know -- and as her story unfolded in the book, I only wanted to keep her company on her inevitable journey.

The story is deceptively simple: Josie, a dentist from Ohio who has just given her practice away in a vicious lawsuit with a former patient and who has recently divorced her husband Carl, has decided to take her two small children -- Paul, 8, and Ana, 5 -- to Alaska to visit Josie's stepsister (of sorts) in Homer. But the role of dentist in Ohio, the role of wife to the immature Carl are not truly Josie's; she's restless; she wants to see what the world actually is, and what it means. Bearing a difficult childhood and a lifelong restlessness that once led her to the Peace Corps in Panama, she harbors a hope that Alaska will reveal the actual, gritty, vibrant life that she has always sought. In Anchorage, she rents a run-down RV she names The Chateau, and she, Paul, and Ana set off on a journey that is an antithetical Odyssey (they even spend time in "Homeric" Alaska): they journey toward no clear final destination -- no Penelope waiting to enfold Josie in certainty -- and the strange and fantastic encounters they have along the way signify no larger narrative, no involvement of the gods. Josie isn't certain what she's seeking in Alaska, but the deeper she and her children get into the journey, the more she lets go the pressures and injustices of the suburban Ohio world, allowing Alaska to strip her down to whatever lies at her core.

Some have found Heroes of the Frontier disappointing, calling it a ramble, anticlimactic, shiftless. Those readers have not yet faced the Josie in themselves, or maybe they move contentedly in their suburban loops. Maybe they have never longed for Something Else. Maybe they have never visited Alaska. In this eloquently written book, Eggers captures the eccentricities of the state (which I called home for ten years): the last frontier is gorgeously wild, but populated with oddities and lost ghosts, just as Josie is, just as we all are. The final scene of the book is exuberant and upsetting and exactly true, and the final line is all of that, too. It is strange to be a woman and a mother in this particular America in this particular time. More than anything, I left this book feeling utterly understood.

I hope Josie finds that, eventually, too.

The title does not adequately depict the content of the novel and is quite misleading. This was obviously written by a man because no mother in her right mind would intentionally place her children in grave danger repeatedly. This novel is filled with absurd situations that are difficult for the reade to relate.

First half of book is logical, sometimes funny, 2 young children and Mom on an adventure in old RV. . 2nd half starts viering After she goasts her sister, and continues just driving, breaking and entering and much more. Not quite sure what was even discovered in the end.

I enjoy Dave Eggers writing, but the protagonist in Heroes of the Frontier was so dysfunctional a character that she was more a human pinball rolling about in an RV in Alaska than a person whom a reader could believe found some sense of strength and fortitude in the end of the novel.

I thought this was much better than Hologram (not sure how much of a compliment that is). I did find myself interested in the characters despite Josie's dysfunctional nature, No wonder her husband left her. I don't think the author knew what to do with her at the end of the book, so it's just left to your imagination what they're going to do next.

Very long and very little story. This trip to Alaska just went on and on.... I grew weary of these adventures that were all at the mercy of Josies kids. I stuck with it hoping for something to make it all worthwhile at the end... but no, didn’t happen. Read Hologram for a King. It’s excellent.

Heroes of the Frontier, Dave Eggers, author; Rebecca Lowman, narrator
I have read several books by the author and have found them thought provoking, but this one is mind numbing! The book seems unsure of its purpose. Is it about disillusionment, relationships, parenting, responsibility, survival, medical malpractice, criminality, indiscriminate sex, greed, escapism, or any number of other subjects brought up in the book?
For me, the long and the short of it is this: A foolish professional woman, a dentist named Josie, has been sued by a patient who alleged that she failed to discover her cancer until it was too late. As a result, she lost her dental practice. She was forced to sell it to a friend to pay for damages to the litigious family.
The woman, Josie, had been in a long-term, relationship (unmarried), with a man she pretty much supported, who was and still is a deadbeat, but he is the father of her two children. This should give the reader some insight into her character. This man, Carl, who fathered her children, Ana, five years old, and Paul, 8 years old, has now decided that although he saw no logical reason to marry her, he wants to marry someone else. He would like the children to attend his wedding, and to avoid this, Josie takes off into the wilderness in an RV she rents from a man in Alaska. She has never driven one but lies and announces that she has even driven a bus. Her nose grows as the story does.
She breaks the law and lies with impunity. She sees suspicious behavior behind the actions of all she comes in contact with and judges herself harshly when anything goes wrong, but still, she often does not think before she acts. She seems a bit unstable as she makes more and more immature and foolish decisions. Without any plans, except for visiting a “sister”, she exposes herself and the children to frequent danger as the “powers that be” rain down one life threatening event upon another in her direction. She often leaves her children unattended, takes up with people and then questions her choices, when it is too late, drinks to excess, lies and breaks the law, as she and her family basically become squatters on properties they trespass. She believes that she is running from people chasing her, but is anyone really after her? She is not paranoid, but she is not mature or very stable, either.
The story made little sense to me and seemed to have no real direction, veering off into new territory at the whim of the author without relevance to the main thread. The catastrophic events Josie and her children were forced to face occurred too frequently and seemed contrived. I kept wondering if the earth would swallow them up the next time and perhaps then spit them out again. In the end, they seemed like fairy tale characters, landing on their feet each time, against all odds, and then embarking on more and more foolish journeys without any adult thought. The children seemed more mature than their mother.
There were some pretty gross and crude descriptions of some moments that the reader could really have done without. They added nothing, especially those concerning feces, unless it was included for shock purposes. They did serve to show how ill prepared and unaware Josie was of possible dangers as she embarked on her runaway journey. The author describes her as an educated woman since she is a dentist, but she doesn’t seem so, since she is unaware that lightening under a tree or near water is dangerous. It seems to be a fact we all learn during our first bad thunderstorm.
The conclusion was disappointing. I actually thought I had erred and not downloaded the book entirely! Was the ultimate message that Josie finally grew up, was it that with courage you could overcome adversity, was it that the world was spinning out of control, was it that everyone was pursuing greed except those in the wilderness of Alaska where they seemed to be living quieter lives without damaging the environment, was it that Nirvana does or does not exist? In fact, it seems that nature was doing a fine job of that on its own! I am sorry to say that the book was disappointing.

I read Dave Eggers' book "The Circle" and admired its unique style so much that I found it hard to put down. I was looking forward to reading "Heroes of the Frontier" but after reading more than half of it I am so disappointed that I see no point in continuing. If you want the subject of your book club discussion to be "human feces as a recurring theme", then this is the book for you. Otherwise, I'd give it a pass.

Dave Eggers is probably my favorite writer and I've enjoyed every book he's written including this one. But to me Heroes of the Frontier joins You Will Know Our Velocity as his only non-5 star books even though both were quite entertaining. This one is just a little less gripping and believable and a little more contrived than all the others. I bet Eggers fans will be happy but new readers should start with any of the others.

Reading Heroes of the Frontier and I'm just like...BLAH BLAH BLAH. Is there something big here I'm missing? Nothing is believable or likable in this book. Nothing. You can absolutely tell the female main character is written by a man. It's disjointed and nothing makes any sense, nor does the reader "care" about any of these people or events...or is that supposed to be the point?

Prolific novelist Dave Eggers’ take on the American road trip. Fleeing from her failed marriage and collapsed dental practice, Josie and her two kids look for a new start in Alaska. Their journey is entertaining but very little is revealed. Read more at bookmansbookreports.blogspot.com

Story is downright depressing--should have listened to the negative reviews. They had it right: poor to non-existent plotting, no convincing characterization, written as if to fill a commitment and that's all. Still has some lovely patches of writing, but not enough to make up for the time I spent on this, thinking "It's got to get better--this is Eggers!" And then it ends---doesn't conclude, mind you. Just ends. You turn the page, but nope, that was the last page. Sad. Beyond disappointing. And Alaska, which could have been a great presence in the book, wasn't.

A novel befitting Eggers' heart, about dropping everything, being reckless and running away. Except with seeming kidnapping of the protagonists own children. The writing in this novel is a lot weaker than any of Eggers previous work but you can tell he probably limited the hand of an outside editor, which was something this book desperately needed. Calling a boys eyes ice-priest blue, and describing a set of twins basically nonessential to the story three different ways in three different paragraphs being amongst those unnecessary things.

I don't give up on books that easily so I slugged through. But this one is really bad.

An entertaining and highly-enjoyable bittersweet road-trip novel with three well-drawn, endearing main characters (Josie, a middle aged, ordinary woman, quite adept at making wrong choices, her calm and sensible 8-year old son, Paul, and her wild 5-year old daughter, Ana, a real living danger) that will linger in my memory.

Like others who reviewed this, I did not finish it. Got through 3 CDs before stopping at the point when Josie did an endless, stultifying monologue about how much of a victim she was, how everyone wronged her, how nothing was her fault. Banal and boring, IMO.