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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Nya’s sections were incredibly difficult to read on the kindle because of the light color typeface. Even darkening it to the boldest my kindle would go, didn’t help that much.
Linda Sue Park has written the story of one man's journey from his homeland in Southern Sudan across deserts and rivers, battling man and nature, to live in a series of refugee camps before finally being sponsored to come to America. A Long Walk to Water is based on the true story of Salva Dut's twenty-plus years of incredible perseverance and survival as he wandered hundreds of miles from refugee camp to refugee camp, searching for a place to belong. Eventually Salva's grit and determination resulted in work that now brings aid to those living in his former homeland. The book centers around Salva's story, but also includes the narrative of Nya, a fictional girl living in present-day Southern Sudan who has to walk miles each day to collect water to sustain her family.
Between the two narratives, Park paints a vivid picture for readers of the difficulties those people living in the small, remote villages throughout Africa face related to not only basic survival, but also the threat of violence that is persistent in the area. It is not easy to read of people striving to overcome such hardships and heartache, but the story is a powerful one that spurred me to want to do more for these people half a world away, who I now maybe understand a tiny bit more.
Wow. W o w.
I had no idea what this was about. The geographic and human scope of this book is- wow.
What I loved:
1) concise language (matches Salva’s own style well). It was short and only rarely sweet but certainly impactful with every word.
2) the timelines- the time frames were SO SO HELPFUL. Being able to mentally categorize the events with the setting established at the beginning of each section- LOVELY! Was a WONDERFUL addition to my reading experience.
3) the intersecting timelines- different from 2 bc this refers to the fact that there were two stories going on at once. This gave me a picture of what the evolution of South Sudan and left me with warm fuzzies at the end because the protagonist of the 2008-based timeline- Nya- was from the opposing tribe to Salva’s own. Nothin’ like a good friendship story.
4) SPEAKING OF FRIENDSHIP- that gut punch with the death of Marial??? I DID NOT SEE THATCOMING. Salva and Marial’s relationship was giving me major Patrochilles vibes so I probably *should’ve* seen that coming. But MAN that one hurt. And then Salva’s unclue right after- god this book was impactful.
5) just. I’m really glad I read this. I learned so so much about South Sudan and the Second Sudanese Civil War. This is exactly the kind of book I wanted, and I’m so happy I finally read it.
What I didn’t like:
1) IT WAS TOO SHORT!! GIVE ME MORE ON SOUTH SUDAN’S HISTORY TOLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LIKABLE CHARACTERS!!!!!!!
2) no that’s literally it. I loved this book. One of my favorites of this year for sure.