You Shall Know Our Velocity
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You Shall Know Our Velocity (or YSKOV) is a fiction novel written by Dave Eggers, published in hardcover in San Francisco, California by McSweeney's in 2002 with ISBN 0970335555, and later in paperback in New York by Vintage in 2003 with ISBN 1400033543. It is important to note that some editions of the paperback contain a 50-page section, that the hardcover does not, inserted into the middle of the story. The resulting addition calls into question the reliability of the narrator, and the truth of the story being told. Therefore, depending on which edition you read, You Shall Know Our Velocity can be viewed as two different stories.
Both editions are largely narrated by Will, and his perspective is retained in the actual text of the story in the paperback. The addendum is a reflection written by Hand. In the world of YSKOV, Will's memoirs were published six years ago, and Hand takes it upon himself to insert his own perspective immediately after the climax of the novel. Hand's meta-narrative is entirely self-contained, and is as much personal digression as it is relevant critique of the story as presented by Will.
Plot
The plot follows Will and Hand, two childhood friends who set out on a week-long, around-the-world odyssey, ostensibly to give away a large sum of money. Will has surprisingly come into a large amount of money, which he is uncomfortable having, and wants to get rid of it as soon as possible. Will and Hand had a third friend, who had recently been killed in a car accident, and the two had ambitions to use the money to save his life, but to no avail. Will and Hand buy plane tickets to the most obscure countries possible, wherein they will give the money away, bit by bit, to people whom they arbitrarily decide are most deserving. Without a solid set of criteria, or a definitive direction in their plan, this proves surprisingly difficult, and they experience much awkward confusion and moral uncertainty. They often fear of being robbed and killed. They are barely able to achieve their goal of giving away their money, and are reduced to pretending to ask for directions, and taping money to barn animals. Will becomes unstable and begins to lose his composure.
A pseudo-sequel entitled The Only Meaning of the Oil-Wet Water follows Hand and the minor character Pilar in Central America. It is featured in the collection How We Are Hungry: Stories.