What Is the What - Dave Eggers

What Is the What

By Dave Eggers

  • Release Date: 2007-10-09
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 150 Ratings
$12.99 On itunes Buy on Amazon

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who, along with thousands of other children —the so-called Lost Boys—was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals, crossing the deserts of three countries to find freedom.

When he finally is resettled in the United States, he finds a life full of promise, but also heartache and myriad new challenges. Moving, suspenseful, and unexpectedly funny, What Is the What is an astonishing novel that illuminates the lives of millions through one extraordinary man.

“A testament to the triumph of hope over experience, human resilience over tragedy and disaster.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"An absolute classic.... Compelling, important, and vital to the understanding of the politics and emotional consequences of oppression." —People

Reviews

  • Thank you...

    5
    By erinmishelle
    ...for this book. The last paragraph is perfection.

  • Enlightening but not compelling.

    3
    By stackhouse.ecks
    While this story was mildly entertaining, it was (at times) a chore to read. The novel lacked a real villain and the plot was “soft” and not really clear. Because the story is “fictionalized”, it is hard for the reader to know which parts are realistic or exaggeration/conjecture/speculation. Regardless, the story definitely provides the reader with thought-provoking nuggets. It also makes you want to know more about the actual conflict(s). I liked the book well enough to suggest it to another fellow reader. I also bought the book for a Sudanese fellow that works at a convenient store that I frequent. By the way… he had never heard of the question “What is the What?"

  • Good

    3
    By Jazzyzvg
    Very good book, scary what he went through. Some parts are very disturbing.

Comments

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