An Unlikely Coincidence

I just finished an amazing novel for a class I am taking this semester called: Memoirs and Biographies of Genocide. That should give you the hint that the selections for this class are both somber, and what some may call, "depressing".

"What is the What?" by Dave Eggers, an author who is famous for writing about tragic events in new and intriguing ways, is a story about the life of Sudanese refugee, Valentino Achak Deng. The novel, written in a collaborative effort between Valentino Deng and Dave Eggers, exposes the more than 40 year conflict that the African country of Sudan has faced while revealing the life of a Southern Sudanese refugee living in the United States. Crafted in a double framework, in which Valentino's journey is told in broken memories from the protagonist's perspective while engaged in a hostile situation in Atlanta, Georgia , the novel excellently juxtaposes struggles in America with the horror faced during the civil war of Sudan. Richly and cleverly written, Dave Eggers uses a very frank and human voice to intricately weave Valentino's experiences, and those of many Sudanese, into a poignant tapestry of humorous, touching, and horrific moments. Reading this novel is especially interesting if you are familiar with the Darfurian genocide. Darfur, now used in countless campaigns to stop genocide and raise awareness, is a city in western Sudan that has been in turmoil for much of the new millennium and is perhaps, after the Holocaust, the mostly widely known genocide of our generation. What is interesting is that many, including myself before reading this book, are not aware that Darfur is a conflict that grew out of the greater conflict the country of Sudan has been embroiled in for almost half of a century!

In fact, even MORE interesting and pertinent, is that while watching CNN earlier this week, I discovered that on January 9th, 2011, today, a historic Vote will begin to take place that could permanently cede Southern Sudan from Northern Sudan and change the disfigured face of this conflict as well as the map of Africa forever. Imagine my incredible surprise when just as I finished reading this eye opening novel, the events transformed from just words on a page, pages in a book, into a real life, historic, and life changing event! An Unlikely Coincidence! Indeed!




If you are interested in following the Southern Sudanese Referendum, here is the article from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/09/sudan.vote/index.