Books like What Is the What

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

Liked What Is the What by Dave Eggers? Here's what readers who loved it picked up next.

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Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (2009) · 3.93★
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002) · 3.98★
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005) · 3.97★
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (2001) · 3.78★
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (2010) · 3.73★
White Teeth by Zadie Smith (1999) · 3.75★
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (2000) · 3.97★
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer (2003) · 3.98★
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2005) · 3.91★