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Summary: Heartbreakingly brilliant book
Comment: I will add my voice to the many who have gone before me to praise this incredible work. It will rock your world and only the most jaded can come away unchanged. As one who works with refugees from Asia and Africa, I was deeply moved by the poignant narrative and the undaunted courage of this boy who became a man against odds of unspeakable suffering and tragedy. The subject is handled with great skill, grace, and even humor, always appropriate. Without the occasionaly slight comic relief, the book might just be impossible to finish: it would be too painful. This beautifully constructed book is an "as told to" autobiography that reads like a page-turning novel. I couldn't recommend it more highly.
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Summary: What is a What
Comment: The book arrived in time and was in very good condition. What a read!!! Makes me count my blessings, what those poor Sudanese boys went through, even after they were here in the U.S.
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Summary: The Cattle or the What?
Comment: A Sudanese version of the Boat People. Instead of pirates, you have the gruesome attacks of militias, lions, malaria. Instead of a sea of sea and malnourished Asian/Mexican heads, a sea of starving children (amongst them, the Lost Boys), civilians, and boys/men with fancy guns on the dessicated landscape of Sudan, Ethiopia.
The book is powerful because it carries a violent voice of honesty. It shatters one's concept of stability and security. I find the various names of Valentino engaging. Also, Zone Eight is riveting and haunting. It also attacks the issue of being in limbo, being stagnant as refugees, which I believe represents all aspect of human existence, regardless of where you reside, on the wealthiest corner of the earth, or the most impoverished.
I highly recommend the book because it opens the eyes of those who are blind to the suffering of others. Awareness is a wonderful medicine for those who are in limbo.
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Summary: What is the What
Comment: The end of the year is an appropriate time to review the books that we have read and to evaluate whether or not a particular book has made a significant impact on us. What is the What is truly one of the genuinely important books that came into my hands this year. I have read many books on many different topics that have pleased and entertained. What is the What is the book that stands out as a must read for every person. We can no longer close our eyes and our ears to the tragedies that confront large numbers of people in our world. What is the What will challenge, inspire and awaken us to what it means to be human.
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Summary: One of the best books I've read.
Comment: Actually, I got this book on audio CD from the library. Most of the discs had scratches on them, so I had to check out the book, too, to read the parts I'd missed. Anyway, this compelling story involved me in this ongoing crisis much more deeply than what I had read in the news. While I was already somewhat aware of the conflict in Sudan, Valentino's story made it real for me. All of the characters were completely believable. This novel educated me about facts of the situation without seeming preachy. Although it was painful to endure all of Valentino's suffering along with him, it remained an enjoyable story even with all that horror.
About the audio recording: it is the best performance I've heard yet. Most of the time, when men do women's voices, it makes me wince. This reader, Dion Graham, did al the voices so well that it really seemed like a woman speaking. I do not know if Valentino's accent was correct, but it sounded good. It was almost startling when the reader shifted from the voice of a Sudanese refugee to that of a thug in Atlanta so easily and authentically. His voice was enjoyable throughout the whole story. Other audio CDs have terrible readings. Skinny Dip, which I'm currently listening to, has a reader with an annoying voice in the first place, and it gets worse when he does the voices of the characters. I am suffering through the book because I like the story. Dion Graham did an excellent job on this reading, and I would recommend the audio CD over the book because his performace adds so much to the story.
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