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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Very painful, amazing (fictionalized) story of courage and perseverence. Sudan's conflict goes way beyond the region of Darfur, which is all we seem to hear about here.
Inspiring, shocking, uplifting, terrifying, heartwarming, and maddening, the story of Valentino Achak Deng strikes the most human nerves. By determination and luck, he's lived through more extreme ups and downs than most of the audience reading this book ever will. The culmination of his relationships with Tabitha and Noriyaki make me want to pound my fist on the table and throw the book against the wall.
But even through all his terrible experiences, there is no self pity from Valentino. He continues on to the next step of his life, not forgetting the past, but carrying it with him to inspire him and make him stronger.
But even through all his terrible experiences, there is no self pity from Valentino. He continues on to the next step of his life, not forgetting the past, but carrying it with him to inspire him and make him stronger.
Wow, what a powerful narrative! Eggers succeeds in making the horrendous and devastating story of the "lost boys" into a powerful testament to the goodness that is out there and the will of the spirit to survive the worst things imaginable. A desperate story told by one man, Achak Deng, through a frame tail contrasting his new life in Atlanta with his own experiences in Sudan. The technique is highly effective and reads like a biography, although it is a composite history of many individuals' lives. I very seldom feel in any way "uplifted" by and books (maybe I'm choosing the wrong things!), but Deng's ability to endure both his Sudanese exile and his life in America are enough to make me feel that to be an appropriately descriptive word. I listened to this as an Audiobook and was entranced by the narrator's ability to voice the different characters and the deftness with which he flowed back and forth between accents and characters. I have not been a fan of Eggers in the past, but this was a beautiful, albeit painful, experience.
A hard read, but worth the effort. Hard to stick with it because of all the awful details of Achak's life. Promising that he has survived and continues to strive to do more. Amazing.
Incredible story...especially in light of the current refugee crisis in Syria. We can't turn our backs on the countless Achaks out there.
One of the freshest, most engaging stories I can remember reading lately. As an American who knows little about what has been happening in Sudan, this book made me care.
*
Based on true life experience, Valentino Achak Deng recounts his life as a refugee from the Sudanese civil war. Starting with his life in America, the book traces Achak's story back to his native village of Marial Bai and his exodus through Ethiopia and Kenya. Told with clarity, humor, and unflinchingly, this tale defines the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Appeals: Framed with a robbery experience while living in the States, readers unfamiliar with the subject and with Sudan are given a gateway to another part of the world. Amazing sense of closeness to the narrator. While enduring unthinkable hardship, any reader can relate to Achak's universal feelings of confusion, hope, love, crushes, friendship, loss and survival.
*
Based on true life experience, Valentino Achak Deng recounts his life as a refugee from the Sudanese civil war. Starting with his life in America, the book traces Achak's story back to his native village of Marial Bai and his exodus through Ethiopia and Kenya. Told with clarity, humor, and unflinchingly, this tale defines the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
Appeals: Framed with a robbery experience while living in the States, readers unfamiliar with the subject and with Sudan are given a gateway to another part of the world. Amazing sense of closeness to the narrator. While enduring unthinkable hardship, any reader can relate to Achak's universal feelings of confusion, hope, love, crushes, friendship, loss and survival.
it was a good story, but it dragged in places. it's not that it was hard to get into, it was just hard to get through.
Well-written but found myself feeling guilty for enjoying a FICTIONAL novel written around a real-life tragedy.
This semi-autobiographical novel was painful to read, but I'm glad I read it. I learned a lot about the Lost Boys of Sudan and the horrific history of this country. It gave me more perspective on the genocide that is still happening in Darfur.
An awesome, moving novel, to read and read again.