| What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng; A Novel Contributor(s): Eggers, Dave (Author), Graham, Dion (Read by) |
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ISBN: 1602832625 ISBN-13: 9781602832626 Publisher: Blackstone Publishing OUR PRICE: $35.96 Product Type: Compact Disc - Other Formats Published: October 2007 Annotation: Based closely on true experiences of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who fled their war-ravaged country to the United States in the mid-1980s, this novel of one refugees story of escape is heartbreaking and arresting, filled with adventure, suspense, tragedy, and, finally, triumph. Unabridged. 17 CDs. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Historical - General - Fiction | Literary - Fiction | Biographical |
| Dewey: FIC |
| Physical Information: 1.69" H x 5.26" W x 6" (1.08 lbs) 17 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In a heartrending and astonishing novel, Dave Eggers illuminates the history of the civil war in Sudan through the eyes of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee now living in the United States. We follow his life as he's driven from his home as a boy and walks, with thousands of orphans, to Ethiopia, where he finds safety--for a time. Valentino's travels, truly Biblical in scope, bring him in contact with government soldiers, Janjaweed-like militias, liberation rebels, hyenas and lions, disease and starvation--and a string of unexpected romances. Ultimately, Valentino finds safety in Kenya and, just after the millennium, is finally resettled in the United States, from where this novel is narrated. In this book, written with expansive humanity and surprising humor, we come to understand the nature of the conflicts in Sudan, the refugee experience in America, the dreams of the Dinka people, and the challenge one indomitable man faces in a world collapsing around him. |
Contributor Bio(s): Eggers, Dave: - Dave Eggers won the 2009 Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation. He is the author of What Is the What, among other books. He is the editor for McSweeney's, an independent publishing house in San Francisco, and is the cofounder of 826 National, a network of nonprofit writing and tutoring centers for youth with locations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Ann Arbor, and Seattle. With his high school students he edits The Best American Nonrequired Reading, a yearly anthology, and with his brother Toph he cowrites the Haggis-on-Whey series of semi-informative books, which includes Giraffes? Giraffes!, Animals of the Ocean (in Particular the Giant Squid), and Cold Fusion. Graham, Dion: -Dion Graham, from HBO's The Wire, also narrates The First 48 on A&E. An Audie Award winner and critically acclaimed actor and narrator, he has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. His performances have been praised as thoughtful and compelling, vivid and full of life. |