What is the What
What is the What
by Dave Eggers
The last sentence of the book is very telling of why Eggers chose to fictionalize the story of Valentino Achak Deng. I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that the novel is worth the pain it takes to get through it. That is not an indictment of the writing, but of the strife in experiencing the story.
Deng and Eggers seem to be kindred spirits, and while each person’s suffering is their own, there is something unique in the voice of these two. Eggers finds a structure that works so well with the book that as you follow along and move back and forth between the present and the past, you become the audience to which Deng addresses throughout. Rather than address you by name, Deng addresses everyone else that crosses his path, with a quiet intensity that Eggers catches fully.
The novel is clear in its portrayal of a distinctly clear Sudanese world view, even though it is written by an American. I can’t say this with complete confidence, since I have little to compare it to, but even just from a historical standpoint, I have a much better understanding of East Africa than I did before reading the book, even just geographically. But more importantly, without getting into the big publicity push that is Darfur, I’m introduced to that of Sudan and the Lost Boys that have traveled from country to country while the government and people disregard them. This notion is captured eloquently in the title of the latest documentary on the Lost Boys, “God Grew Tired of Us.”
What is the What has the classic Eggers irony, reflection and ambivalence in character. While in AHWOSG, Eggers fought with the exploitation he thought of his parents’ death through the writing of his memoir, Deng wrestles with the same ill conscience of his people. The complexity in at once dealing with his pain and that of his people, and blaming them for their own struggles is as frustrating as the persistence God seems to have in making his life miserable.
That is why, though, the book succeeds and shines; because Deng’s character is lucid enough that the clarity and determination of his resolve is never questioned, even when he does it himself.