num_pages: 475
description: From the bestselling author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, 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. When he finally is resettled in the United States, he finds a life full of promise, but also heartache and myriad new challenges. Moving, suspenseful, and unexpectedly funny, What Is the What is an astonishing novel that illuminates the lives of millions through one extraordinary man.-back cover
language: English
title: What Is the What
titlecomplete: What Is the What
genres: Book Club, Historical Fiction, Historical, Africa, Sudan, Novels, Literature, War, Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 84247
places: Ethiopia, Sudan, Africa, South Sudan, Kakuma, North Africa, Marial Bai, East Africa, Kenya
awards: awardedAt: 1167638400000
name: Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY)
category: Literary Fiction, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: Prix Médicis Etranger, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: National Book Critics Circle Award
category: Fiction
publisher: McSweeney's