Blog this item

What Is the What

By Dave Eggers

(63)

| Hardcover | 9781932416640

Like What Is the What?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

Book Description

In a heartrending and astonishing novel, Eggers illuminates the history of the civil war in Sudan through the eyes of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee now living in the United States. We follow his life as he's driven from his home as a boy and walks, with thousands of orphans, to Ethiopia, where he Continue

Critics

Evil under the sun

What Is the What by Dave Eggers 475pp, Hamish Hamilton, £18.99 It is terrible to be ruled by spooks or serial killers. But imagine being terrorised by both - because this is the fate of many people in southern Sudan. The current omnipotence in Kharto ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

A lost boy who found his voice

What Is the What by Dave Eggers Hamish Hamilton £18.99, pp475 Five years ago, Dave Eggers met a Sudanese refugee living in Atlanta, Georgia, called Valentino Achak Deng. Achak, then in his early twenties, was one of 4,000 'Lost Boys' who had washed u ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

See all critics

7 Reviews

4 people find this helpful

Don't expect to find out what the What is, but you will have a profound appreciation for the life of the main character, the hardships endured by his refugee countrymen (in Africa and the US), and the ability for Eggers to effectively write in a voice from perhaps the most disparate background possi ... (continue)

Don't expect to find out what the What is, but you will have a profound appreciation for the life of the main character, the hardships endured by his refugee countrymen (in Africa and the US), and the ability for Eggers to effectively write in a voice from perhaps the most disparate background possible.

Is this helpful?

BR12 said on Jul 18, 2007 | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

"What is the What" is the fictionalized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, who fled from his country during the second Sudanese Civil War and eventually (re)settled in the USA.
I finished reading this book last night, and started again at the first page thi ... (continue)

"What is the What" is the fictionalized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, who fled from his country during the second Sudanese Civil War and eventually (re)settled in the USA.
I finished reading this book last night, and started again at the first page this morning.
My review of "What is the What" is as follows: you should read it. Seriously.

Is this helpful?

titilayo said on Feb 4, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

"sometimes the teeth can accidentally bite the tongue, but the solution for the tongue is not to find another mouth to live in"
(sudanese proverb)
http://www.valentinoachakdeng.com/

Is this helpful?

isabella said on Jul 2, 2007 | Add your feedback

Very violent in the begining, but quite good

I like this a lot because it shows how any depressed neighborhood can be more violent and disrespectful that any war-torned country.

Is this helpful?

ariadna73 said on Nov 3, 2011 | Add your feedback

I would have to say that I enjoyed this novel as much as The Infidel. It is the story of Achak Deng, one of the lost boys, who was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven, treking hundreds of miles on foot through many life threatening situations to find freedom. I highly reccomen ... (continue)

I would have to say that I enjoyed this novel as much as The Infidel. It is the story of Achak Deng, one of the lost boys, who was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven, treking hundreds of miles on foot through many life threatening situations to find freedom. I highly reccomend this novel! Also check out his website www.valentinoachakdeng.org. He is an amazing human being who has struggled through adversity, survived many hardships, and has devoted his life to the humanitarian efforts of Sudan.

Is this helpful?

Jamie Gemuend767 said on Aug 28, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

A story that makes you think that you are lucky enough to live your live, and to treasure what you own.

Is this helpful?

W.S. said on Feb 23, 2008 about the Others edition | Add your feedback