What Is the What writes: "Over the course of many years, Dave and I have collaborated to tell my story... I told [him] what I knew and what I could remember, and from that material he created this work of art." The book is typical of Eggers' style: blending non-fictional and fictional elements into a non-fiction novel or memoir. By classifying the book a novel, Eggers says, he freed himself to re-create conversations, streamline complex relationships, add relevant detail and manipulate time and space in helpful ways—all while maintaining the essential truthfulness of the storytelling. However, not all critics were impressed. Lee Siegel sees
The Idiot ideal, that of true Christian love, to the crucible of contemporary Russian society. The artistic method of conscientiously testing his central idea meant that the author could not always predict where the plot was going as he was writing. The novel is structurally awkward, and many critics have commented on its seemingly chaotic organization. According to Gary Saul Morson, ""The Idiot" violates every critical norm and yet somehow manages to achieve real greatness." Dostoevsky himself was of the opinion that the experiment was not entirely successful, but the novel remained his favourite among his own works. In a letter to