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mike129 's review for:
What Is the What
by Dave Eggers
(In retrospect, I am re-leveling this book from 5 stars to 4.)
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but having read it, I strongly recommend it to almost anyone. Now for my dirty little secret: I listen to more books than I actually read. I do this because (a) I am a very slow reader, so the time invested is not much different, and (b) I like to listen to books while I am driving or doing many chores or just resting my eyes. The audio version of this book is read with something approximating Valentino Achak Deng's own voice. What I heard in this voice was the joyful appreciation of the simplest things, and a wonderful sense of humor at the ironies and unfair aspects of life.
I thought I would end-up depressed after reading/listening to this book. I was not. Instead I ended-up feeling a bit guilty for not more fully enjoying what I have in life. I also ended-up smiling.
This *is* the story of Valentino Achak Deng. So why is it a novel rather than a biography? Valentino himself addresses this in the book's preface:
So read (or, even better listen to) it as a biography or read it as biographical fiction; either way it is well worth your time.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but having read it, I strongly recommend it to almost anyone. Now for my dirty little secret: I listen to more books than I actually read. I do this because (a) I am a very slow reader, so the time invested is not much different, and (b) I like to listen to books while I am driving or doing many chores or just resting my eyes. The audio version of this book is read with something approximating Valentino Achak Deng's own voice. What I heard in this voice was the joyful appreciation of the simplest things, and a wonderful sense of humor at the ironies and unfair aspects of life.
I thought I would end-up depressed after reading/listening to this book. I was not. Instead I ended-up feeling a bit guilty for not more fully enjoying what I have in life. I also ended-up smiling.
This *is* the story of Valentino Achak Deng. So why is it a novel rather than a biography? Valentino himself addresses this in the book's preface:
It should be known to the readers that I was very young when some of the events in the book took place, and as a result we simply had to pronounce What Is the What a novel. I could not, for example, recount some conversations that took place seventeen years ago. However it should be noted that all of the major events in the book are true. The book is historically accurate, and the world I have known is not different from the one depicted within these pages.
So read (or, even better listen to) it as a biography or read it as biographical fiction; either way it is well worth your time.