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A review by stewardofbooks
The Boy Who Never Gave Up: A refugee's epic journey to triumph by Andrew Crofts, Emmanuel Taban
4.0
Young Emmanuel is truly the personification of absolute determination! This is the account of his journey from a poor, barely educated child in one of the most war-torn countries in Africa to a internationally celebrated pulmonologist. He details his early life in South Sudan in an almost matter of fact way, despite the fact that he lived through jail, torture, kidnapping, homelessness and war, all before he was 18. His single-minded perseverance in the pursuit of his ultimate goal is clear from the first few pages right to the end. He had and to some extent still has one goal - to educate himself and work hard so that his family does not need to suffer as he did.
This book hit me hard. It is not necessarily a great work of art in terms of the writing but it is so raw and real that I could not put it down once I started reading. I feel especially close to this story as my family moved to South Sudan around the same time that the author arrived in South Africa as a penniless young man. So many of the people, places and experiences he describes are familiar to me personally. It made the story all the more touching.
The only thing about the book that I disliked is the writing style. It is written very blandly, but at the same time the author is so honest in his descriptions of his life that the book doesn't bore at all. All in all, I really loved the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys true stories, especially the kind that inspire.
This book hit me hard. It is not necessarily a great work of art in terms of the writing but it is so raw and real that I could not put it down once I started reading. I feel especially close to this story as my family moved to South Sudan around the same time that the author arrived in South Africa as a penniless young man. So many of the people, places and experiences he describes are familiar to me personally. It made the story all the more touching.
The only thing about the book that I disliked is the writing style. It is written very blandly, but at the same time the author is so honest in his descriptions of his life that the book doesn't bore at all. All in all, I really loved the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys true stories, especially the kind that inspire.