The Friday Face-Off: Desert Setting

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe. You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:
‘nomad is an island’ – A cover featuring a desert landscape

This ended up being way harder than it should have been. I had a lot of great books with desert settings pop into my head right away (Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick, Throne of the Crescent Moon, etc.), but they all either, 1) didn't have a desert setting depicted on the cover; or 2) only have one or two covers. In the end, I finally stumbled upon two different books I could use and since I have absolutely zero decision-making capabilities, I'm just doing both! The first is What is the What by Dave Eggers, a compelling story about a Sudanese child refugee who eventually immigrates to the United States, and the second is The Girl Who Rides Like a Man by the incredible Tamora Pierce, part of her Song of the Lioness series.

What is the What by Dave Eggers

  

2007 US Vintage || 2007 Dutch || 2013 German

  

2009 French || 2008 Catalan; Valencian || 2009 Portuguese

The Girl Who Rides like a Man by Tamora Pierce

1992 Random House || 1986 Atheneum Books || 2001 German

1992 Red Fox || 2010 French || 1993 German

My choices:

More difficult decisions. For What is the What, I like the Vintage and Portuguese editions. There's something I really like about the up close outline of the character's face with the desert  tree in the back, but I feel like the Portuguese edition showcases the themes of the book better, such as it being a journey he's on alone. 

For Tamora Pierce, I love both the 1986 Atheneum edition and the French, but I have to say I'm really drawn to the French one--and yes, it's mainly because of that gorgeous horse. I find it amusing that the covers have different colored horses because I'm sure her horse's fur is specified (I genuinely do not remember what it looked like, haha.)

  

Which covers do you like best?

What is the What: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

The Girl Who Rides Like a Man: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

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What is the What by Dave Eggers

What is the What by Dave Eggers. Vintage, 2007. Paperback. 560 pages.

After I finished What is the What, I couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. This book is long, packed with information, and relentless in its lack of positive events. This book definitely made me put on my reading brakes and slow down a bit. What is the What is an average sized book, but because of the thin pages, small font, and dense content, this book took a bit longer than expected to read. Fortunately, I can honestly say that the books did hold my attention very well for a majority of the story.

This book is written in a first person narrative by Valentino Achak Deng himself, but it is written by Dave Eggers, which makes it a bit of a fictionalized autobiography. What is the What takes the reader along on Valentino's journey from a young boy living in Sudan to a lost refugee trying to make his way to safety, and eventually to a life in America.

What is the What is mainly split into two main time frams: Valentino in the present-day, telling his story, and Valentino as a younger boy in Sudan. The present day point of view only covers about two days of his life in total, and it is in these two days that Valentino takes the reader back and forth while and narrates his life and journey in Sudan as a young boy to a young man. In addition to these two time frames, there are also narratives interspersed between the present and past in which Valentino relates memories about his recent past living in America. If all of what I just described sounds confusing, it's because it sort of is at first, but fortunately it's easy to catch on. Plus, the style changes somewhat when he is narrating his past, which helps understand when a time frame change has taken place.

You have to pay attention in this book. There are so. many. details. I felt lost trying to remember all of the names of many of the characters, so I stopped trying if a name or location didn't stick with me. And although this is a frustrating aspect of the story, it is a positive at the same time, as it adds a certain level of intrigue and authenticity that really helped me become immersed into the life of Valentino.

The content itself is fascinating. Valentino's story is heartbreaking, full of hope and despair all at the same time. I felt inspired by the crazy, intense struggles Valentino went through and how he handled everything. This book is harsh reminder of what life is like for many war refugees, and an important look into what life is like in many of these circumstances.

With as much detail and careful thought that was put into the telling of this story, however, I still found myself feeling lost or as if I was missing things at times. Certain minor details were never expanded upon (i.e. his headaches - did he ever get medical treatment for them? is there anything wrong? I need answers!) and it frustrated me to have so much information presented to me, but at the same time not having enough information presented to me about important events and aspects. Time periods are occasionally skipped over, and I wanted to hear more about some of them.

This is what I consider a great example of Eggers' writing. I've read a few of his other books, the most recent being The Circle, and I was extremely disappointed. His writing did not seem up to par, and is absolutely not what I would recommend to someone who is just trying out Eggars' writing for the first time - this book is. Overall, I am giving What is the What our stars!

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You might also like:
The Secret Book of Kings by Yochi Brandes
Consequence by Eric Fair
The Chibok Girls by Helon Habila
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: What is the What by Dave Eggers

First Chapter Tuesday is hosted every Tuesday by Diane over at Bibiophile by the Sea. Join the fun by making your own post and linking up over at Diane's blog, or simple check it out to find more new books to read!

What is the What by Dave Eggers

Preface

"What is the What is the soulful account of my life: from the time I was separate from my family in Marial Bai to the thirteen years I spent in Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps, to my encounter with vibrant Western cultures beginning in Atlanta, to the generosity and the challenges that I encountered elsewhere. As you read this book, you will learn about  me and my beloved people of Sudan. I was just a young boy when the twenty-two-year civil war began that pitted Sudan's government against the Sudan's People Liberation Movement/Army. As a helpless human, I survived by trekking across many punishing landscapes while being bombed by Sudanese air forces, while dodging land mines, while being preyed upon by wild beasts and human killers."

Chapter 1

"I have no reason not to answer the door so I answer the door. I have no tiny round window to inspect visitors so I open the door and before me is a tall, sturdily built African-American woman, a few years older than me, wearing a red nylon sweatsuit. She speaks to me loudly. "You have a phone, sir?"

She looks familiar. I am almost certain that I saw her in the parking lot an hour ago, when I returned from the convenience store. I saw her standing by the stairs, and I smiled at her. I tell her that I do have a phone.

"My car broke down on the street," she says. Behind her, it is nearly night. I have been studying most of the afternoon. "Can you let me use your phone to call the police?" she asks."

(Note: I decided to add a preview of the preface as well in order to give a bit of background to what this book is all about.)

I'm actually just wrapping this one up -- I'll probably finish today -- but I've been dying to share it with people! This is such a gripping story that is written in a really interesting way. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy the style, but it's been working really well. I definitely recommend it! 

What do you think? Would you keep reading? (And feel free to join in and make your own post!) 

If you're enticed by this chapter, be sure to check out the full synopsis on Goodreads!

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*Excerpt taken from the novel itself; I do not claim to own any part of the excerpt.