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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I'm really glad that I read this book. I didn't know anything about Sudan/South Sudan, and this gave a good overview of their history and gave me some context to better understand what's happening there today. This book made the story come alive by mixing the historical context with a personal account. It was impactful.
Wow this was a doozy. It was an incredible journey told from one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, just had a hard time getting the motivation to read and finish it. Very long book.
Cried throughout. Opened my mind to a whole world I knew little about.
Yeah so I'm never going back to this. It's a tenuous and I think unsustainable that Eggers tries to strike as he writes the "autobiography" of another human being. It all makes me feel too squinchy.
I love Dave Eggers, and the more socially conscious he gets, the more I love him.
The sorrow in this book was overwhelming at times, especially knowing that it is basically a true story. But it has made me more grateful for my own good fortune at being born in this country, and given me insight into what it is like to live in a country torn apart by civil war. Yet despite his struggles, the love and optimism constantly displayed by Valentino was truly uplifting.
(In retrospect, I am re-leveling this book from 5 stars to 4.)
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but having read it, I strongly recommend it to almost anyone. Now for my dirty little secret: I listen to more books than I actually read. I do this because (a) I am a very slow reader, so the time invested is not much different, and (b) I like to listen to books while I am driving or doing many chores or just resting my eyes. The audio version of this book is read with something approximating Valentino Achak Deng's own voice. What I heard in this voice was the joyful appreciation of the simplest things, and a wonderful sense of humor at the ironies and unfair aspects of life.
I thought I would end-up depressed after reading/listening to this book. I was not. Instead I ended-up feeling a bit guilty for not more fully enjoying what I have in life. I also ended-up smiling.
This *is* the story of Valentino Achak Deng. So why is it a novel rather than a biography? Valentino himself addresses this in the book's preface:
So read (or, even better listen to) it as a biography or read it as biographical fiction; either way it is well worth your time.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but having read it, I strongly recommend it to almost anyone. Now for my dirty little secret: I listen to more books than I actually read. I do this because (a) I am a very slow reader, so the time invested is not much different, and (b) I like to listen to books while I am driving or doing many chores or just resting my eyes. The audio version of this book is read with something approximating Valentino Achak Deng's own voice. What I heard in this voice was the joyful appreciation of the simplest things, and a wonderful sense of humor at the ironies and unfair aspects of life.
I thought I would end-up depressed after reading/listening to this book. I was not. Instead I ended-up feeling a bit guilty for not more fully enjoying what I have in life. I also ended-up smiling.
This *is* the story of Valentino Achak Deng. So why is it a novel rather than a biography? Valentino himself addresses this in the book's preface:
It should be known to the readers that I was very young when some of the events in the book took place, and as a result we simply had to pronounce What Is the What a novel. I could not, for example, recount some conversations that took place seventeen years ago. However it should be noted that all of the major events in the book are true. The book is historically accurate, and the world I have known is not different from the one depicted within these pages.
So read (or, even better listen to) it as a biography or read it as biographical fiction; either way it is well worth your time.
yeah i mean be grateful for what you have <- and that little “for what you have” part is important because without yeah be grateful nice love it but with it there it’s implying that there are things that you /don’t/ have and maybe some of these things are things you want but more so they could be bad things you aren’t going thru like starvation and or genocide
I really didn't understand the trouble in Africa. this was my first real look into the civil war. Learned a lot. Very sad happenings. The book was very engaging.
A well-written book - violent and depressing at times, but the writing is so clean and clear that I moved through it almost without effort. Changed the way I thought about Africa, and refugees. I originally picked it up because I liked "A Staggering Work of Heartbreaking Genius" so much, but this writing is much different. Not worse, just different.