A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, this is an epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee now living in the United States. Along with thousands of other children in the wake of civil war in Sudan, the so-called "Lost Boys," Deng was forced at the age of seven to leave his village and trek hundreds of miles across the desert on foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals.
"Dave Eggers has made the outlines of the tragedy in East Africa—so vague to so many Americans—not only sharp and clear but indelible. An eloquent testimony to the power of storytelling, What Is the What is an extraordinary work of witness, and of art."—NYTimes
