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gemma_oakes 's review for:
What Is the What
by Dave Eggers
Whenever I thought of Sudan I thought of War, starvation and orphans - basically everything I had seen on the news. I had no real understanding of the extremity and magnitude of the situation. Here, Dave Eggers uses his subject and voice of the novel Achak Deng to provide an almost first hand testimonial. Deng's story is a tough one and he has no doubt suffered more than any Westerner like me can comprehend, but it is the fictionialisation of his plight that, for me, causes issues with his message.
I found there to be a surprising lack of heart to the story. This maybe intentional to highlight the disconnection Deng feels from his native land, but it may be a problem of Egger's interpreting Deng. Both Deng and Eggers admit to certain embellishments and it's these embellishments that undermine what is a very important story. Attempting to tie in events in Deng's life to historical events like 9/11 makes it seem a little too neat and strangely almost bordering on farcical.
This is ultimately a rightly hard read, I'm pleased I've read it, pleased to have heard Deng's story but I'm not sure it's entirely successful in its objectives
I found there to be a surprising lack of heart to the story. This maybe intentional to highlight the disconnection Deng feels from his native land, but it may be a problem of Egger's interpreting Deng. Both Deng and Eggers admit to certain embellishments and it's these embellishments that undermine what is a very important story. Attempting to tie in events in Deng's life to historical events like 9/11 makes it seem a little too neat and strangely almost bordering on farcical.
This is ultimately a rightly hard read, I'm pleased I've read it, pleased to have heard Deng's story but I'm not sure it's entirely successful in its objectives