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ISBN:0307385906
Dave Eggers Genre Fiction English
Author: Dave Eggers
ISBN13: 978-0307385901
Title: What is the What
Format: mobi mbr lrf lrf
ePUB size: 1257 kb
FB2 size: 1186 kb
DJVU size: 1328 kb
Language: English
Category: Genre Fiction
Publisher: Vintage (October 9, 2007)
Pages: 560

What is the What by Dave Eggers



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Dave Eggers's What Is the What shows he has recovered from irony overload to tell a truly heartbreaking tale of a young man's journey from Africa to America, says Tim Adams. All the proceeds from the book will go to a foundation set up in Achak's name which, as well as paying for his college education, will rebuild his old village in Sudan. So, a worthwhile venture, and, as an emotional primer about the impacted recent history of the Sudan, about the fighting between north and south, government and rebels, Arabs and Dinka, murahaleen and SPLA, Eggers's ventriloquism could hardly be bettered. He makes Achak's an authentic and affecting voice of the grimmest narrative of our times, and it is, you might say, a nicely reciprocal arrangement.

Eggers is famous for his book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. That title could easily apply to What Is the What. Book Discussion Group Questions. If you've chosen this book for your discussion group, here are some sample questions. Did you know the plight of the Lost Boys before you read this book? Did it change what you thought about the situation? What details impacted you the most? Continue Reading. Biography of Dave Eggers: Author, Publisher and Activist.

Synopsis: What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan program. As a boy, Deng is separated from his family during the Second Sudanese Civil War when the Arab militia, referred to as murahaleen (which is Arabic for traveller), wipes out his Dinka village. As you read this book, you will learn about the two and a half million people who have perished in Sudan’s civil war. I was just a boy when the war began.

This is an unusual book because it’s presented as a novel by Dave Eggers, yet it’s really an autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng. First, they wanted it to be in Valentino’s voice, but his English wasn’t strong enough to write the story. Second, because he was very young when most of the events of the book happened, it wasn’t realistic to think his story could be considered strictly factual.

Dave Eggers’s What Is the What is, like Huckleberry Finn, a picaresque novel of adolescence. It’s a real high-wire act, yet Eggers manages to maintain this level of intensity throughout the book as Achak and the other Lost Boys encounter minefields and massacres, loneliness and fear, starvation, disease, predatory wild animals, the seemingly endless varieties of cruelty, the sustenance of fellowship and the surprising manifestations of instinctive human kindness.

Dave Eggers - What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng (2006). I was just a boy when the war began

What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese child refugee who immigrated to the United States under the Lost Boys of Sudan program. It was a finalist for the National Book Award

Where Eggers used A Heartbreaking Work as a vehicle for his philosophical musings and wit, What Is the What matter-of-factly recounts events without saccharine sentiment or flowery prose. Eggers even avoids much embellishment, according to the real-life Valentino, who introduces the story: We live in a time when even the most horrific events in this book could occur, he acknowledges, and in most cases did occur. Evil so widespread and casual is difficult to grasp. It makes the book read as much like Tolkien as non-fiction, but, amazingly, through one refugee’s voice, we also see hope

Author : Dave Eggers. Date of Publication: 2006. PDF, EPUB File Name: What Is the What. epub, What Is the What. pdf, What Is the What. What Is the What pdf epub mobi Download by Dave Eggers Here is a quick description of the book What Is the What written by Dave Eggers which was published in 2006. You can read this before What Is the What PDF EPUB MOBI full Download at the bottom. From the bestselling author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, What Is the What is 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.

New York Times Notable Book New York Times BestsellerWhat Is the What is 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.

Reviews: 7
Getaianne
Should have reviewed and praised this brilliant 2006 account of Sudanese civil-warfare, the flight of one person, his finding a host nation (US), where he survives a home invasion, soon after it came out. Seeing hundreds of reviews when it came out, I desisted, mine would be a drop in the ocean. Its publication caused a wave of sympathy in the US for international support for the future secession of an entity called South Sudan (SS) from its evil mother Sudan. However, the South’s long-time charismatic leader Dr John Garang died in a mysterious helicopter crash in 2005. He had always fought for a more inclusive, less unequal and -discriminatory New Sudan, and always rejected secession.
After a six-year transitional period, Independence was declared in 2011. Garang’s morose successor Salva Kiir never presented a clear plan or ideology for South Sudan’s future. Instead, his attitude about ethnic conflict by his own violence-prone Dinka clan vs rival clans, then other tribes, notably the equally violent Nuer, has created blatant nepotism, massive corruption and transfers of oil funds abroad by a tiny in crowd. A presumed coup attempt in 2013 resulted in tens of thousands of dead and millions of refugees and IDPs, hard to reach by aid workers prone to attack, rape and robbery in their hotel rooms by government soldiers, or while travelling overland by anyone carrying guns.
Re emergency relief, the ICRC (a major player worldwide and in SS) uses the concept of ‘residual responsibility’ when its most pressing targets have been met: which agency will take over what, where are we still indispensible? Is this concept applicable to the broad swath of nations that supported for years SS independence militarily, financially, diplomatically? Was their mission accomplished in 2011? Legitimizing SS in UN-terms, opening embassies in Juba, soon seeing the dream collapse in chaos and despair, an environment unfit and unsafe to service investments made, let alone making new ones?
Nothing here is meant to disparage Dave Eggers’ wonderful book. Eritrea was an earlier beauty that went its own way. It became so repressive that its young citizens want out, at great risk and cost. I fear for the future of South Sudan’s young generation and hope this outburst will be picked up somewhere.
Gom
Maybe if I was more well-informed and less ignorant about the Lost Boys of Sudan and what went on there, I wouldn't have thought this book was so amazing. But I barely knew anything about what transpired in the Sudan during the late 20th and early 21st centuries before reading this and therefore was blown away by this book. Unfortunately most Americans (and the developed world in general) only pay attention to what affects them, and what was happening in the Sudan was easy for us to ignore. I hope more and more people read this book.
Fog
I remember very well the night of September 10 2001, when I sat crying over the story of the Sudanese "Lost Boys" that aired on TV. How sad the story of these children walking through the desert of a warring Sudan. How beautiful that they were given the chance to start a new life in the USA.
I woke the next morning to the horrific news about the terror attacks in the east, and had a moment of pause when I thought of the story of th he Sudanese refugees I saw the night before. I thought that their plight would then go unnoticed , being overshadowed by the advent of certain war.
From then I noticed these elegant men arriving in my city and wondering at their stories, their strength, and with time, triumphs. We are proud to read of our new residents accomplishments. I have always remained curious about their stories. Thankfully, now I have read this account of one "lost boy's" origin, which has given me a better framework of understanding the stories of these victims of war.
I applaud the courage of the refugee, the immigrant and the power of hope that has transformed their lives. Thank you for sharing this story
Malara
When I say that this book changed me irrevocably, I am not overstating. I read this book first back in high-school in my senior year in 2007. This book is so intense and meaningful to me, I can't really describe it. As someone who grew up upper middle-class my whole life in America, the experiences of Valentino Deng, ghost-written by Dave Eggers (one of my favorite authors), are profound in their intense despair, incredible hopefulness, and heart-breaking authenticity. I feel like I became a better,more worldly, more humble and more introspective person after having read this book. I also have a much greater appreciation for the plights of others from around the world. I literally knew next to nothing about Sudan and the refugee crisis before reading this book. I probably still know very little, but I feel closer, none the less, to such a profound and mass human experience.
Fiarynara
This is one of the most incredibly moving books I have ever read. Dave Eggers has a way with storytelling that is unique and compelling. He doesn't always hit the mark, but this book, along with Zeitoun, is some of his best work.

The story is the true story of Achak Deng, who is forced to flee his village in South Sudan after a civil war breaks out. The characters are rich and compelling and the story of his journey from South Sudan, to a refugee camp, and eventually to the United States is beautiful.

I have shared this book with relatives and clients alike. It reads like a novel and gives you a view into a world you may have heard of but don't know much about.
BlessСhild
I had heard of the lost boys' story and that there was a documentary about it. This book, based on the story of one of those boys paints a picture of such unbelievable challenge, hardships and amazing resilience. For children to live through such events and then be thrust into a life in the States is quite unfathomable to me. The story and events is one thing but the execution and writing is another. I love how it was written. How it moved back and forward in time. It's a big book, make no mistake, but I never found it cumbersome. It kept my attention from start to end.
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