A Long Way Gone, What is the What and the Time Traveler’s Wife

I had three more books that I would recommend. If you are pressed for reading time, don’t stop reading my blog so you can go read the books are said were good. But that said, chop chop. Winter is coming. Hibernate with a good book. Or three.

Two are books about kids and war-torn countries: Ishmael Beah’s Long Way Gone and Dave Egger’s What Is the What. Both were excellent, although after spending that much time reading about death and destruction, I was pretty damn ready to get lost in some relaxing fiction. This came in the form of The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Rookie and I recently went to go see the movie version of The Time Traveler’s Wife. It looked good, the weather was nasty, and Eric Bana is dreamy. (You'd never know Eric Bana is Australian by watching this movie. His American accent is bang on). Kristin had read the book already that enjoyed. Plus, I had already finished the book I brought, so I needed something to read on the bus ride home. Seeing the movie first didn’t spoil the book at all, and instead allowed me to enjoy the extra detail and depth while picturing Eric Bana as Henry. I found myself getting very lost in the story, in the good way. I took it with me to read on the subway, not because I was bored, but being I was addicting. If you’re looking for a quick and enjoyable breezy fiction, check it out.

A Long Way Gone was gripping enough that when I moved to Toronto half way through my reading borrowed it on “extended loan*”. I finished it shortly after I got here - I just opened it up and found a bunch of pictures and even my ticket stub (I think I might have finished it on the plane). The book is written by a boy from Sierra Leone, now in his late twenties and living in New York. His account of his childhood is a disturbing but interesting and intriguing story. I was grimacing as I read in several parts, but I didn’t find it to be too much - that was depressing or why would I want to read that? over kill. I didn’t love it enough to blog about it as soon as I finished it, but that probably has more to do with my timing that it does with the book.

What is the What is considered a work of fiction. It’s the life story of Valentino Achak Deng, who grew up in a civil war-ridden Sudan. Deng is a very interesting fellow, and he has a website- clikc here if you would like to see it. Dave Eggers ‘helps’ with the writing (or maybe he writes the whole thing? Or barely any of it? I wonder) and the account of events long ago is so detailed that the book was classified as fiction. (A Long Way Gone is considered non-fiction, but again, it’s difficult to say how much was exactly as it happened. Beah was traumatized, starved and drugged, which isn’t exactly an easy state to remember word for work a conversation that one had at age 11).

I’ve read one other book by Dave Eggers, his first: Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which I would also recommend. I'd like to find some more work by him, having read and enjoyed there two, plus listening to a speech by him on TED (an interesting website!).

Deng’s story is a crazy one, which of course makes it very interesting. It’s very well written, which I’m sure is a perk of getting a veteran author like Egger’s involved in the project. I sure was ready for some pleasure reading (I’m now onto some Stuart McLean – Vinyl Cafe Diaries, but What is the What is a book well worth reading.

*thanks Mom.