I don't know why, but sometimes I read a book that I expect to like due to storyline, author, reviews and, for whatever reason, I don't. This is what happend with this book. I just didn't like it - I found the writing style difficult to read and annoying. The story itself is inspirational, but I felt that the story did not translate well to the reader. I often felt a bit bored - I really can't put my finger on why I didn't like this book, but the truth is I just didn't. So...What is the What?....I just don't know.

Dave Eggers' "What Is the What" is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful books written in the past few years. An inspiring book, but at times often very difficult to read. When I say you at times will be forced to put the novel down and take a step back, I really do mean it. Some of the tragedies in this book can be too much to deal with even as a reader, even if the narrative is told with humor and humility.

This book is truly impossible to leave without being changed in some way; a novel that almost urges the reader to bring about change in a cruel world. Also, as this book is labeled as fiction, it is often difficult to know when the nonfiction ends and when the fiction begins. Yet, conversely, this conundrum is what ultimately makes "What Is the What" such a unique book.

Ideally a must-read book for the entire human race in my opinion, but I would recommend this book at anyone interested in humanitarian work, Sudan, or any of the plight in Africa.

I would have given this six stars if I could have. It's a heavy book, but once I started I couldn't stop reading it. At times, however, the story was just too hard, just so hard, that I could not continue reading for a while. Thinking back on some of the tragic parts, it brings tears to my eyes all over again.
Dave Eggers tells a horrific story with humour and finds a way to make it a redeeming tale in the end. Reading this book has changed me.

A number of recent memoirs have been debunked, shown to be fictionalized or at least not factually provable. This book takes an opposite tack, positioning itself as a novel but subtitled "The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng". Deng is one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, child refugees who escaped war-ravaged villages, spent years in refugee camps, and were eventually resettled in North America. Deng, not himself a writer, collaborated with Eggers on this riveting book, the proceeds of which go to Deng's foundation for the aid and education of the Sudanese in the wake of their national unrest. Eggers, a fantastic memoirist and novelist in his own right, makes of Deng's story both a universal journey and a specific, informative and compelling look at Sudan and its people.