Sebastian Shakespeare

Arduous Asylum

What is the What

By

Hamish Hamilton 480pp £17.99 order from our bookshop

At first glance this book looks like a heartbreaking work of staggering worthiness. A prefacing note explains that all the author’s proceeds are going to Sudanese refugees, and the novel comes garlanded with a quote from a human rights organisation. When did you last read a novel endorsed by the International Crisis Group? Whatever you think of What is the What, you cannot fault Eggers for his noble intentions.

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