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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I learned SO MUCH from this book, but had to read it in bits and pieces so as not to be overwhelmed by the sadness of the story.
Unbelievable how someone can go through so much pain in one single life, it really helps to our own life into perspective. This book also gave me a whole perspective on a previously unknown country to me as it opened my mind to the story of South Sudan.
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was skeptical of this book before I read it because it is a strange blend of fiction and non-fiction. The main character is a real person, and many of the things that happen to him in the book happened to him in real life. But some of the plot is fabricated, pulled from the lives of other Sudanese refugees. In the end, it didn't matter. It is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking books I've ever read, and rings more true than a lot of straight non-fiction.
I didn't finish this book. It was just too slow, although the story was fine.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Excellent account, but the writing was not quite up to par.
This book broke my heart. It's just a book that will stay with you. I still think about him all the time, even though the character was historical fiction. I'm grateful to it for giving me a little more understanding on what was happening in Darfur.
Poignant and personal. A very educational novel about the Sudanese Civil War and the subsequent resettlement of Sudanese refugees. I enjoyed the narrative style and the narrator was easy to root for.
This is a well-written book about Valentino Achak Deng, a former Lost Boy of Sudan, and his incredible life. I think in this current climate many may view a white writer creating a semi autobiographical book about an African man’s journey from Sudan to America, and I would count myself in that group, at least until I read it. Honestly, I feel capable of writing my own story of my own life, but I would really like it if Dave Eggers would do it for me. I know it’s probably not the same thing, but Eggers is a talented writer whose choices in this novel were well-sculpted and edited. This could have been a rather straightforward book about a boy from a war torn country in Africa to America but Eggers uses some clever asynchronous story telling to add more depth and context to Deng’s hard story. And make no bones about it, Eggers comes short of being Deng in the ways a white man from the West can, but I also am thankful he used his cache of talent and privileged status to tell Deng’s story. I feel like I’m a better and more educated person because of these two collaborating on telling a story of a man who exists.