What Is the What

Dave Eggers

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - 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.

"A testament to the triumph of hope over experience, human resilience over tragedy and disaster." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"An absolute classic.... Compelling, important, and vital to the understanding of the politics and emotional consequences of oppression." --People

Book Details

Publisher: Vintage
Publish Date: Oct 9th, 2007
Pages: 560
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 8.12in - 5.26in - 0.95in - 0.86lb
EAN: 9780307385901
Categories: • Literary• Historical - General• Biographical & Autofiction

About the Author

DAVE EGGERS is the author of many books, among them The Circle, The Eyes and the Impossible, The Monk of Mokha, A Hologram for the King, What Is the What, and The Museum of Rain. He is the cofounder of 826 Valencia, a youth writing and tutoring center which has inspired dozens of similar nonprofit organizations around the world, and the founder of McSweeney's, an independent publisher. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and is the recipient of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Education, and the American Book Award.

Praise for this book

New York Times Notable Book - NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST

"[An] Astonishing story ... of immerse power, emotion and even, in the midst of horror, beauty." --Salman Rushdie

"Told with humor, humanity, and bottomless compassion for his subject. . . . It is impossible to read this book and not be humbled, enlightened, transformed." --Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner

"Lit by lightning flashes of humor, wisdom and charm.... An extraordinary work of witness, and of art." --Francine Prose, The New York Times Book Review

"A moving, frightening, improbably beautiful book." --Lev Grossman, Time

"A testament to the triumph of hope over experience, human resilience over tragedy and disaster." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"An absolute classic.... Compelling, important, and vital to the understanding of the politics and emotional consequences of oppression." --Jonathan Durbin, People

"A sweet and sometimes very funny story of one boy's coming of age.... Strange, beautiful and unforgettable." --John Freeman, San Francisco Chronicle