What Is the What - Dave Eggers - 3.5*

[Elise]

3.5 stars

Based on the true story of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee from Sudan, during the civil war in the 1980s. The backbone for the story takes place in the 2000s, when Achak, now living in the States, gets robbed in his apartment and needs to go to the hospital. During this time he tells the story of his childhood in Sudan, the day the army came and wiped out his village, his walk through the desert first to Ethiopia, then to Kenya... Interspersed are anecdotes from his life as a refugee in the US.

Obviously this wasn’t the easiest book to read because of the difficult subject matter. It was worth it though, I really “enjoyed” learning about these events that I knew nothing about. Some things would have seemed ridiculous in a novel, but knowing they happened for real to this real person is hard to fathom.

A worthwhile read. That I almost ignored because I hated The Circle by the same author so much.

[Susan]

Thanks for reviewing this book. I agree with you that it's important for audiences, especially Americans, to know about what happened in Sudan, and the story of these boys. It's completely outside the imagination of many that such things happen. Good reason to read!

[Booknblues]

This has been on my TBR forever and ironically it is right up my alley.
I need a push to read this.