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"Before you know it as the years go by, you're just like other people you have seen, with all those peculiar human ailments. Just another vehicle for temper and vanity and rashness and all the rest. Who wants it? Who needs it? These things occupy the place where a man's soul should be." -- Henderson the Rain King

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

What Is The What

Eek, I'm behind on my book blogging. Book #5 on my list this year was Dave Eggers' new novel What is the What.

Although billed as a novel Eggers' work centers around Valentino Achak Deng, a real-life Sudanese "Lost Boy" who recounted his story to Eggers over the course of three years. Eggers has taken the poetic license to fictionalize some of the details, but has attempted to tell a story in Valentino's voice using real life events as the foundation for the events in the novel. Using Valentino as his muse, Eggers crafts a heart-wrinching (notice I avoid the temptation to say heart-breaking) story describing Valentino's seperation from his family in Marial Bai and the subsequent thirteen years he spent in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Valentino's story is one that screams to be told and Eggers does an excellent job of delivering it. It's Eggers best work to date and a book that I'd highly recommend. Oh and Manute Bol makes a couple of appearances in the story so it's got that going for it too!

Collection of reviews and interview with Eggers and Valentino
New York Magazine review
Excerpt on Salon.com
Wikipedia page
Lost Boys of Sudan documentary

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posted by Jamie at 12:16 AM