Truly Inspiring

So y'all know I'm trying to plow through that List of Influential Books and that my first try, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, was a giant disappointment and my second book, Freakonomics, while interesting, wasn't really earth-shattering. I felt like the next book I picked needed to be really good, or it was going to be more difficult to motivate myself to keep plugging away at the list. Last week I went to the library and checked out 3 books: The Bonfire of the Vanities, Beloved, and What is the What. Eventually, I chose to start with What is the What after reading this:

"What is the What is the epic novel based on the life of Valentino Achak Deng who, along with thousands of other children- the so-called Lost Boys- was forced to leave his village in Sudan at the age of seven and trek hundreds of miles by foot, pursued by militias, government bombers, and wild animals,crossing the deserts of three countries to find freedom."

I was intrigued, even though I knew very little nothing about Sudan's struggles or the Lost Boys, though honestly I wasn't sure what to expect.

The story is Valentino's, but the author of the story is Dave Eggers. In the book's preface, Valentino, who goes by many names throughout the book, but most often Achak, states that the book is considered a novel because the story began when he was so young and not every word, person, or place could be recalled exactly (thank goodness, who wants another James Frey incident?); however, the major events "are true and the book is historically accurate."

The book is a hefty 535 pages and I was hooked from page 1. I read it in less than a week! It was touching, horrifying, funny, and unbelievable all at once. How did this little boy have the strength to keep going through such completely awful things?

"I dropped my bag, everything I owned, and jumped in. I paddled with my hands cupped like paws, only my head above water... As I moved through the water, I could feel the current carrying me downstream. I watched the crocodiles, keeping my eyes fixed upon them. There was no movement from them. I kept paddling. There was a great blast behind me. I turned around and could see the soldiers, kneeling in the grass of the riverbank, shooting at us as we crossed...I paddled and kicked. I looked again for the spot on the riverbank where I had last seen the crocodiles. They were gone... A scream came from very close. I turned to see a boy in the jaws of a crocodile. The river bloomed red and the boy's face disappeared. 'Keep going. Now he's too busy to eat you.'"

Reading this book made me cringe, made me feel sick. I felt angry. I felt ignorant. I felt tired. Seriously, sometimes I would be reading for a while, so engrossed in what was happening, so tense, that I had to finally put the book down and walk away. Over the weekend I took a few naps while reading the book- it is emotionally draining, to say the very least. And yet I also felt hopeful. I felt hopeful that there is a man out there that has been knocked around (literally and proverbially) so many times and has continued to get up and has continued to try to do good for the world, for his village in Sudan, and for himself. There are days, very recently even, that I have felt as though I have bad luck, that weird things happen to me, blah blah, but I really have nothing to complain about. Nothing. I am ashamed. And humbled. And once again, truly amazed at the tenacity of human beings.

I can see why this book was put on Mental Floss's list of most influential books. This one belongs on the list. It touched me, it opened my eyes to something new, it made me want to learn more. (Oddly enough, one of the documentaries I put on my Netflix queue months ago is about the Lost Boys. What a coincidence!) This is the first book I've read that has made me want to write and say, "Thank you for sharing your story. I can't believe what you've been through." Hmm... maybe I will do just that.

I leave you with one more quote from the book:

"I speak to these people, and I speak to you because I cannot help it. It gives me strength, almost unbelievable strength, to know that you are there. I covet your eyes, your ears, the collapsible space between us. How blessed are we to have each other? I am alive and you are alive so we must fill the air with our words."

***By the way, if you want to learn more, check out cool video clips and pictures, or get involved, visit The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation. *** Also, check out President Obama's reaction to the book here.