Read What I Read

What is the What is the story of one of the Lost Boys, one of the refugee children borne of Sudan's second civil war. Going into a novel like this, you expect things to be grim, and you are correct. Things are bad in Sudan, bad in the refugee camps, and not a lot better after resettlement in America. After a particularly terrible happening, the narrator describes the state of his faith:

...Though whispered doubts have ringed my head and though I have had certain godless hours, my faith has not been altered, because I have never felt God's direct intervention in any affairs at all. Perhaps I did not receive that sort of training from my teachers, that he is guiding the winds that knock us down or carry us. And yet, with this news, as we drove, I found myself distancing myself from God. I have had friends who I decided were not good friends, were people who brought more trouble than happiness, and thus I have found ways to create more distance between us. Now I have the same thoughts about God, my faith, that I had for these friends. God is in my life but I do not depend on him. My God is not a reliable God.

The good news is that the narrator survives, and the proceeds from this novel are going his foundation.

The bad news is that the narrator's troubles do not end with the book's final page. The book's distributor has declared bankruptcy, and the foundation may see only a fraction of its would-be funds.

It would seem that his God is, at least, consistent.