Sunday 24 February 2013

Thoughts on What is the What?

What is the What is a thought provoking but sometimes slow paced non fiction novel written by Dave Eggers. Starting the book, I liked the concept of Eggers writing from the perspective of the main character, Valentino. Reaching into deeper parts of the book however, this concept got a little frustrating. It was often difficult to comprehend what the author was trying to say. And if there was a hidden message behind a certain paragraph or so, it was not easy to understand to read between the lines. Another thing, I noticed that Dave Eggers has a way of writing that represents interval training. It is slow paced and relaxed for some pages, but a rush of events turns the book into almost a sprint. A good example of this is when Valentino talks about what happened when the Muhadeen attacked his town and he had to run to his Aunty's house. The previous few pages had been extremely fast paced, and so were the next few pages. The ones prior to that however, were relaxed and casual. This sort of writing style isn't necessarily unenjoyable, but personally, I prefer a consistent paced novel than an up and down one. However, What is the What is a novel different from ones I usually read, which might also be why I am not enjoying it was much as I could.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with you on the point that the ups and downs are very irregular which makes it very bumpy and hard to understand. I also enjoy "constant paced novels" as you can enjoy it much better.

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