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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
File under life immitating art, or any of those phrases. What is the What is a book that everyone should read. It is well-written, begs interesting questions about society, religion, global economy, all of the tough questions, and still manages to maintain a great deal of heart, and humor and human experience that keep the reader engaged and caring. It reads very easily and quickly for its 475 pages & neo-historical context, and the fact that it is a true story makes the central character Achak, and many of his companions truly unforgettable, and remarkably literary in their struggles and uncertainties. Not to mention this book deals with Sudan and East Africa - probably the least-covered topic of any part of the American public school system, so the awareness-factor alone here makes this worthwhile.
The 5th star I'm keeping, if only for the fact that the end came a little too abruptly, and I found the closing statements a little obvious.
But still! Remember! This man is real, and his struggle is real. I was hiking in Colorado in the dead of winter when reading this. 7 miles up, 7 miles down. And I almost put this book aside prior to my journey, but I didn't. And I'll say this: I'm glad.
The 5th star I'm keeping, if only for the fact that the end came a little too abruptly, and I found the closing statements a little obvious.
But still! Remember! This man is real, and his struggle is real. I was hiking in Colorado in the dead of winter when reading this. 7 miles up, 7 miles down. And I almost put this book aside prior to my journey, but I didn't. And I'll say this: I'm glad.
I have two criticisms of "What is the What" - the fact that it's billed as a novel and that it doesn't have Valentino Achak Deng's name on the front cover. I understand having to fictionalise conversations from 20 years ago, but what 20 year old conversations aren't fictionalised? However, the larger flaw is not including Mr. Deng's name on the cover despite the fact that this is the soulful and historically accurate story of his life (his words).
This aside, Mr. Deng's autobiography, written by Dave Eggers, is great (despite a certain stilted language). I knew embarrassingly little about the Lost Boys of Sudan or how they came to be lost, and in addition to filling in those gaps, "What is the What" is in turns beautiful, heartbreaking, taut, and clear eyed. It is also self aware and completely un-self-pitying, despite a life's worth of sorrow (and hope) packed into 27 odd years.
I highly recommend it.
This aside, Mr. Deng's autobiography, written by Dave Eggers, is great (despite a certain stilted language). I knew embarrassingly little about the Lost Boys of Sudan or how they came to be lost, and in addition to filling in those gaps, "What is the What" is in turns beautiful, heartbreaking, taut, and clear eyed. It is also self aware and completely un-self-pitying, despite a life's worth of sorrow (and hope) packed into 27 odd years.
I highly recommend it.
I learned so much from this memoir. I knew the Sudanese suffered horribly but this close up account changed my perspective on African refugees forever. Beautifully written with a voice of trust and saddened loss of innocence.
I enjoyed thus book...but it was hard to read. It took me a long time to get through because the content is so heart wrenching. Normally, I would have just stopped, but I kept telling myself the least I can do for these boys is read their story, no matter how difficult it us.
I've read numerous books about the Lost Boys of Sudan. I'm not sure what it was about this book but I was reluctant to want to get this book from the library. Then I read about 200 pages but stopped and started too many times to count. I just coul not get into this book.
This was an absolutely heartbreaking, gut-wrenching book. It's classified as fiction only because much of the book happens when Achak is a young boy, but it is a true account and you owe it to yourself to read his story. It's incredibly hard to get through at some points. I was shocked not only by the horrors of what he saw in Sudan, but also the heartbreaking experience he has here in the US where he has come for salvation. This is a must-read, but steel yourself. You may also want to mix in some light-hearted reading between breaks - it's a tear-jerker.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I found the narrative structure and the idea behind it very intriguing but somehow was a bit unsettled with the play on authorship.
Powerful, compelling, and deeply heartfelt. Most cliched review ever, but true nonetheless.