What is the What?

I first heard of What is the What? by Dave Eggers when I spent time in India two years ago. Each of the people in my group brought a few books and we spent the summer passing them around. There wasn't much to do right in the middle of the day when it got unbearably hot and no one was outside, so we had the opportunity to read a wide variety of books we might have never otherwise come across. What is the What? was one of the books circulating that summer, and while I yearned to read it, it never made its way into my hands.

Flash forward to this semester, when What is the What? was picked as the First Year Book, and I got a free copy at the First Look Fair. I've been a fan of Eggers for about 6 years (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and How We Are Hungry are both amazing!), so I immediately delved into the book, and was incredibly surprised by so many things in it. For those of you who haven't read it yet, I won't give anything away, but it's an combination of incredible stories organized in a moving and unique way. Eggers chronicles the story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. 

I actually haven't finished the book yet because I've found that I need some time between each spurt of reading to digest the words and fully understand and appreciate Deng's story. I'm almost done with it though, which is great timing since Eggers and Deng will both be on campus together this Thursday! They will be speaking from 5:30 pm to 7 pm in Tydings 0130. Long lines are anticipated (personally, I think they should have rented out Cole for this--everyone should be there!), so get there early! It is sure to be a moving speech, and if it is anything like the book it will be unlike anything you've ever experienced before. 

I hope to see you there!