What is the What by Dave Eggers

Description

“What Is the What” is a novel by American author Dave Eggers, published in 2006. It is a fictionalized account of the life of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” The Lost Boys were a group of young Sudanese refugees who were displaced and forced to flee their homes during the Second Sudanese Civil War in the 1980s.

The novel is based on Deng’s personal experiences and interviews with him, and it is presented as a first-person narrative. It tells the story of his journey from his war-torn village in Sudan to a refugee camp in Ethiopia, then to another camp in Kenya, and ultimately to the United States, where he resettles as a refugee.

Through Valentino’s perspective, the novel provides a harrowing and emotional account of the hardships, violence, and trials faced by the Lost Boys as they sought safety and a better life. It also explores the challenges and cultural adjustments that come with being a refugee in the United States.

Dave Eggers’s novel is a poignant and moving work that sheds light on the experiences of refugees and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. It combines elements of fiction and memoir, blending Deng’s real-life experiences with Eggers’s storytelling to create a compelling narrative that has been widely praised for its empathy, vivid storytelling, and its ability to draw attention to the global refugee crisis.