Total Page : 560
Publisher : Penguin
Publication Date : 2008 06 05
>> upsetting hopefull funny
An incredible book In the prologue it is explained that while this is called a novel it is actually based on a real person s life as a young child in Sudan through arriving in the U S as a refugee In my mind this seems more of a memoir in that some had to be constructed from childhood memories but all the significant events are real
It is hard to understand how much a young boy can live through and keep going The main character actually has several different names as it changes as he moves through geography and life my favorite is Gone Far No one raised in the western world can comprehend what the the Lost boys of Sudan went through to simply survive long enough to walk to refugee camps I also don t think many of us realize the length of stay many refugees have in camps before they are accepted into the the US or other western countries That anyone physically survived the walk through Sudan the author actually watched as boys were plucked from the line of walkers and carried off by lions then survived the nutritional and hygiene deprivations of refugee camps is amazing All this without parents or siblings just other boys
Their arrival in the US is just another beginning of a difficult foreign walk I heard of a local group in my home town their sponsor would visit their apartment and re explain what foods went in the refrigerator and what went in the cupboard In the book Achak marvels that his neighbor would rather call him on the phone then walk 2 doors down to speak with him The efforts it takes to receive an education from the refugee camp to American colleges makes me feel a bit ashamed for the attitude many Americans take towards school It also makes me wonder how many of the refugee students in our district have significant PTSD How do you learn your way around a new world with the legacy of war and refugee camps to say nothing of poor perinatal and childhood nutrition
The book simultaneously covers the time from normal childhood in Sudan to the refugee camp and very difficult times once arriving in the states It is obvious that Achak will arrive in the US but there are so many obstacles in his way that I found myself holding my breath in my pajamas reading the last chapters well into a summer afternoon
The book is very upsetting and yet very hopeful with moments of humor The best news is what happens after the book ends Achak returns to Sudan to build a school in his home town and to encourage education for girls Check out Proceeds for book sales go to his foundation
I am going to recommend this book to everyone and especially my School Nursing friends on the front lines with refugee families
>> A profoundly moving immersion in a life none should have to live
I cannot imagine how someone could read What is the What and not be profoundly affected and moved by the tale it has to tell Despite being labeled as a novel What is the What is nonfiction telling the tale of Valentino Achak Deng a Sudanese man who fled his village as the civil war broke out in his country Eggers and Deng labeled it a novel due to Eggers recreation of conversations that Deng could not specifically remember Eggers takes Deng s tale his youth his life in the village his trek across the country his time in refugee camps his time in America and crafts it into a beautiful work that conveys the horrors of the time not only on a massive scale but a personal one letting us into Deng s world and forcing us to experience the events through the eyes of a young boy There s no denying that What is the What can be a difficult read but Deng and Eggers fill the tale with a joy for life and a sense of hope to say nothing of a quiet sense of humor even in the worst darkness that permeates the novel The end result is a book that truly opens a reader s eyes to the experiences of the Lost Boys and many of the Darfur inhabitants immersing us in a world many of us know little about from Sudan to Kenya and even to the immigrant experience in America and making it an experience we will be unable to leave behind It is one of the most powerful books I have ever read and while it is not an easy book it is an important one one that I would say every person owes it to themselves to read
>> A very moving personal story
I felt as if I was transported to the Sudan witnessing the atrocities and experiencing the hardships I would definitely recommend this moving account from one of Sudan s lost boys
