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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I finally finished reading "What is the What." The novelized memoir of Sudanese "lost boy" Valentino Achak Deng is a book I kept having to put down and pick up again. It is a vivid and moving retelling of a horrifying story, told in such a present and human way that it is somehow, amazingly, both heartbreaking and warmly funny. And a lesson on Africa. Oh, and America.
What a heart wrenching and totally inspiring story. Consider donating to the Marial Bai school at
http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/
http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/
Great story, but unnecessarily long (which is the only thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars).
Did not finish this. I got about 1/4 of the way done and could not by get over the way it was narrated. I’m sure it’s a great book. It just wasn’t what I was looking for.
The content was good, the book was enlightening and tragic. The first 300 pages were really hard for me to get through though, this was not the kind of book I was dying to pick up. The last two hundred pages were more interesting. Worth the read just to see how bad the refugees had it and provide a little perspective.
I decided to read this as "background" material before I travel to Africa later this year.
It is an amazing story beautifully told. Dave Eggers took the true story of one of Sudan's "Lost Boys" and recast it as a novel. The device works well in this book and the voice of Valentino is haunting. A whole new way to view the immigrant to America experience. And yes, I think it has given me some insight into East Africa.
It is an amazing story beautifully told. Dave Eggers took the true story of one of Sudan's "Lost Boys" and recast it as a novel. The device works well in this book and the voice of Valentino is haunting. A whole new way to view the immigrant to America experience. And yes, I think it has given me some insight into East Africa.
Beautiful, straight-forward storytelling that neither sensationalizes or glosses over the horrible things the narrator experienced. I feel like a total pansy for complaining about things like my Internet being slow or bacon giving me gas.
This is the first book I've read about the refugee experience and I was gripped for every page. I found the main character easy to love and root for.
This is also the first book that I've read about Africa and it makes me want to learn more. I really loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.
This is also the first book that I've read about Africa and it makes me want to learn more. I really loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.
This is the story of a man who has endured unimaginable loss without self-pity and without self-importance. The character is beautifully written and the history is terrible and important.
It’s difficult to capture complexity and nuance the way Eggers has without becoming too dense or confusing. Though this book can be heartbreaking, it was also enjoyable to read and informative.