What is the What by Dave Eggers
Release date: 17 CDs
Synopsis (from back cover): What is the What 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 finds safety — for a time. Valentino’s travels bring him in contact with government soldiers, janjaweed-like militias, liberation rebels, hyenas and lions, disease and starvation — and unexpected romances.
Review: Those of you who have already read this (I think I’m a little behind on this one) will understand just how difficult it is to write a representative review of this powerful work. And those of you who haven’t read it yet — please do.
However, after spending three months listening to it, I am so glad to be free… Free to listen to NPR, or sports talk radio, or music during my drive. Free to not have to wonder if my parents and siblings have survived. Free to focus on my weekly schedule, my blog, riding my horse, attempting recipes, a good night’s sleep. Free to disagree with my government at times but not worry that my loyalties will cost me passage to a life without fear.
I decided to read this after I went to Ethiopia in January. One of the men in our group was reading it and I asked him if he was enjoying it. He hesitated, for quite a while, and then reluctantly said, “Well, yes.” I now understand his answer fully.
I had read Egger’s autobiography and had found it self-indulgent and bit annoying, so I was surprised that he tackled a topic of such significance — the Lost Boys of the Sudan. Well, this work certainly redeems any weaknesses I perceived in Eggers’ earlier work.
The story is told in first person, by one of the surviving Lost Boys who has reached adulthood and is living in Atlanta. When the story begins, Valentino has been robbed at gun-point and left to die in his apartment. He then tells the tale of his childhood in Sudan as a flashback, jumping back into his present life intermittingly.
Brutal. Tragic. Violent. Overwhelming. All of these adjectives are appropriate when describing Valentino’s past — and even his present to a certain extent. But what keeps the reader hooked and engaged in What is the What is how optimistic (without ever being saccherine or naive) and yet matter-of-fact Valentino is. We really, really like him — and somehow empathize (rather than sympathize) with his plight, despite how extraordinarily different it is from our own. I listened to this work — and the reader was perfect — but I imagine Eggers’ prose would translate just as well on the page.
My friend described What is the What as “an important work” and it truly is. So, I strongly recommend it to all, but be prepared for a long, rough journey…
I would love to hear others’ opinions of this, too — feel free to drop me a comment!
Pingback: Review and Free Giveaway: Rooftops of Tehran | BOOK CLUB CLASSICS!
Pingback: Review: Strength in What Remains | BOOK CLUB CLASSICS!