What is the What

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

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.

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  BR12 said on Jul 18, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | 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.

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  titilayo said on Feb 4, 2008 | 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/

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  isabella said on Jul 2, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | 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.

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  ariadna73 said on Nov 3, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | 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.

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  Jamie Gemuend767 said on Aug 28, 2008 | Add your feedback

• 

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

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

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Book Details

• Rating:
  (63)
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• English Books
• Paperback 560 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0141015748
• ISBN-13: 9780141015743
• Publisher: Penguin
• Pub date: Jun 05, 2008
• Dimensions: 1290 mm x 839 mm x 258 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Hardcover, Audio CD, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages Libros en Español, Libri Italiani

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• NY Times Notable Book Club (475)

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ISBN	Edition	List	Sale	Seller
9780141015743	Paperback	$14.74	--	The Book Depository
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