Dave Eggers's What Is the What is the novelized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, from his pre-war life in southern Sudan to his resettlement in the United States. What is the What has been widely acclaimed in reviews by the media, other authors and the general public.
What is the What is a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist:
"Reworking this powerful tale with both deep feeling and subtlety, Eggers finds humanity and even humor, creating something much greater than a litany of woes or a script for political outrage. What Is the What does what a novel does best, which is to make us understand the deeper truths of another human being's experience." -- Keir Graff
Check the library's catalog for copies of What Is the What.
THEMES
Father-separated boys
Refugees, Sudanese
Survival
Robbery / Assault and battery / Victims of crime
Poverty
Loss (Psychology)
Home (Concept)
Belonging
Globalization
Voyages and travels
Sudanese Civil War
GENRE
Historical fiction 1955-1972
Biographical fiction
SETTING
Atlanta, Georgia
East Africa; Sudan
NAMES OF CHARACTERS
Valentino Achak Deng
(aka Achak, Dominic Arou, Marialdit, “Gone Far,” “Sleeper”)
In and around Marial Bai
Deng Arou - father
Samuel, Peter, Philip - brothers
William K - best friend, teller of tall tales
Moses - best friend, the strong one
Amath - village girl, object of Valentino’s affection
Father Dominic Matong - village priest
Sadiq Aziz - father’s Arab business partner
Michael Luol - handless man
Bol Dut - member of national parliament, friend of Valentino’s father in Aweil
On walk to Ethiopia
Dut Majok - teacher, leader of walking boys
Kur Garang Kur - second-oldest walking boy behind Dut
Deng - Valentino’s first walking friend
Desert Man - old man, feeds Valentino
In and around Pinyudo
Achor Achor - best friend, resettles to Atlanta
The Eleven - Valentino’s group
Ajulo - elderly Anyuak lady, feeds Valentino
Mr. Kondit - teacher
Royal Girls - Valentino’s first romantic success
Quiet Baby - abandoned baby rescued after Gilo River massacre
In and around Kakuma
Maria - friend, saves Valentino’s life on road to Kakuma
Gop Chol Kolong - father in Kakuma
Ayen - Gop’s wife
Abuk - stepsister, messenger
Miss Gladys - teacher
Tabitha - girlfriend
Noriyaki Takamura - friend and boss
Wakana - Noriyaki’s fiancée
Deborah Agok - midwife who visits Marial Bai
Thomas - man in Loki, helps Valentino get a ride during his recycling trip
Abraham - doctor at Lopiding Hospital
Mike Mwaniki - founder of Mavuno Drama Group, sponsor during trip to Nairobi
Mr. CB - Somali man, contacts Valentino’s father by radio
St. Josephine Bakhita - enslaved Sudanese and Canossian Sister in Italy, later canonized