Reticulum

Who has gotten their book already? I just got mine yesterday and I've read about 30 pages or so - it already seems incredibly interesting. I definitely plan on entering that essay contest when it's posted.

What do the rest of you think of it so far?

p_hp_fan

I finished it a couple days ago. I didn't know they were sending it to us free so I bought it myself a while back...whoops. I thought it was mediocre. Having read somewhat similar books such as the Kite Runner, and A Long Way Gone, I thought it was just too withdrawn. I don't like the fact that some guy who's been living in the States his whole life (Dave Eggers) is telling this story about a boy in Africa (Valentino Deng). I just don't think it has the same emotion as other books written by people who have actually lived in the stories they're telling.

Also...it was long, tedious, and lacked a clear theme. I thought the author would tie it together or bring in the What to give Deng's experience some kind of...profound message or theme or something. However, it's really just a narrative story, kind of like you'd see on the news...only longer.

I think sometimes people mistake sad stories for good stories.

Just my opinion.

feikuai

Well you have to remember that the story is based as close to reality as possible, so it can't be nearly as exciting as something like the Kite Runner, which I feel it is extremely similar too. I think it speaks tremendously, instead, to Eggers' ability as an author that his captures reality of Deng's story in a way to make it more interesting and captivating for far longer than any column you could read in the paper. He does it to the point where this biographical novel is being compared with realistic fiction and I found myself, during certain parts, really hoping it wasn't real.

Also, I'm in China atm, and bought my own copy before leaving. Don't know what I'm gonna do with a second copy..

runforfun529

I partially agree with both p_hp_fan and feikuai. I agree with p_hp_fan that it was long and tedious. I was expecting a some sort of profound message or more concentration on the What. It definitely lacked some coherency and it jumped around A LOT. I don't know if that was necessarily bad because it made the story more interesting.

However, I do agree that Eggers' writing ability is exemplified here because he is able to convey the emotions of this sad story without having experienced any of it first hand.

Overall I'm glad I read it. It was bearable, and a very good introduction into the Sudanese Civil War for those of us (like me) who have never been to the country and barely knew where it was. While maybe not the most interesting or captivating book I've ever read, I feel like I learned a lot from it.

apeek19

Runforfun nailed it in my opinion. It was good but lacked any real meat. I would have rather read an article on lost boys and then another book of more literary merit.