What is the What
  • Published: 27 October 2011
  • ISBN: 9780141917412
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 560

What is the What

Formats & editions
EBook
27 Oct 2011
Paperback
30 Sep 2008
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The true story of one boy's courage in the midst of one of the world's most violent conflicts

At the heart of this astonishing novel is a true story of courage and endurance in the face of one of the most brutal civil wars the world has ever known. Valentino Achak Deng is just a boy when conflict separates him from his family and forces him to leave his small Sudanese village, joining thousands of other orphans on their long, long walk to Ethiopia, where they find safety – for a time. Along the way Valentino encounters enemy soldiers, liberation rebels and deadly militias, hyenas and lions, disease and starvation. But there are experiences ahead that will test his spirit in even greater ways than these…

Truly epic in scope, and told with expansive humanity, deep compassion and unexpected humour, What is the What is an eye-opening account of life amid the madness of war and an unforgettable tale of tragedy and triumph.
  • Published: 27 October 2011
  • ISBN: 9780141917412
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 560
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About the author

Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers is the author of ten books, including most recently Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever?, The Circle and A Hologram for the King, which was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award. He is the founder of McSweeney's, an independent publishing company based in San Francisco that produces books, a quarterly journal of new writing (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern), and a monthly magazine, The Believer. McSweeney's also publishes Voice of Witness, a nonprofit book series that uses oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world. Eggers is the co-founder of 826 National, a network of eight tutoring centers around the country and ScholarMatch, a nonprofit organization designed to connect students with resources, schools and donors to make college possible. He lives in Northern California with his family.

www.mcsweeneys.net
www.voiceofwitness.org
www.826national.org
www.scholarmatch.org
www.valentinoachakdeng.org

portrait photo of Dave Eggers

Also by Dave Eggers

The Every
The Parade
The Monk of Mohka
Heroes of the Frontier
Your Fathers, Where Are They? And The Prophets, Do They Live Forever?
The Circle
A Hologram For The King
See all

Praise for What is the What

Read Dave Eggers' What is the What – it's the best book of the year

Guardian

If there was ever any doubt that Dave Eggers is one of our most important storytellers, What Is the What should put it to rest... [A] strange, beautiful and unforgettable work

San Francisco Chronicle

'A remarkable book: harrowing, witty, wretched, delightful; and always compelling, always surprising' London Review of Books

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