Strength in What Remains | Tracy Kidder

Strength in What Remains | Tracy Kidder | Survival and Redemption with Deogratias

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	Strength in What Remains Tracy Kidder Random House, 2009 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 119 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Tracy Kidder, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of the bestsellers The Soul of a New Machine, House, and the enduring classic Mountains Beyond Mountains, has been described by the Baltimore Sun as the ?master of the non-fiction narrative.? In this new book, Kidder gives us the superb story of a hero for our time. Strength in What Remains is a wonderfully written, inspiring account of one man?s remarkable American journey and of the ordinary people who helped him?a brilliant testament to the power of will and of second chances.

Deo arrives in America from Burundi in search of a new life. Having survived a civil war and genocide, plagued by horrific dreams, he lands at JFK airport with two hundred dollars, no English, and no contacts. He ekes out a precarious existence delivering groceries, living in Central Park, and learning English by reading dictionaries in bookstores. Then Deo begins to meet the strangers who will change his life, pointing him eventually in the direction of Columbia University, medical school, and a life devoted to healing. Kidder breaks new ground in telling this unforgettable story as he travels with Deo back over a turbulent life in search of meaning and forgiveness.

An extraordinary writer, Tracy Kidder once again shows us what it means to be fully human by telling a story about the heroism inherent in ordinary people, a story about a life based on hope.

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Moving and insightful

"Strength in What Remains is the story of Deogratias," as the author writes (more succinctly than I could) in his post on Amazon.com, "a young man from the central African nation of Burundi. In 1993, through no fault of his own, he was forced onto a terrifying journey, a journey that split his life in two. First he made a six-months-long escape, on foot, from ethnic violence in Burundi and from genocide in Rwanda. Then, in a strange twist of fate, he was, as it were, transported to New York City, where it sometimes seemed that his travails had only just begun."

Deo, as he is called, was a medical student in Burundi when the genocidal campaign was launched. He fled on foot for hundreds of miles through the bloodcurdling upheaval of both Burundi and Rwanda and eventually arrived in New York, penniless, friendless, and hungry. Kidder relates Deo's story both before and after his escape from the violence in East Africa, through an Ivy League education at university and medical school to his current work building a medical clinic in his homeland, a disciple of the famed Dr. Paul Farmer (the subject of Kidder's next book).

Tracy Kidder is one of America's most accomplished nonfiction writers. He has won most of the major awards that writers can receive. I was first attracted to his work two decades ago through The Soul of a New Machine, his now-classic look at the fast-changing computer industry, which was an extraordinary experience for me. Kidder seems to write where his instincts take him, covering such diverse topics as his home town and building a house to the exotic stories of Deo and Paul Farmer. Everything of Kidder's that I've read has been rewarding. I recommend Strength in What Remains for the sheer humanity of its subject -- and its author.

(From Mal Warwick's Blog on Books)

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Survival and Redemption with Deogratias

A book like "Strength in What Remains" forces you to question your faith in the human race and helps restore it at the same time. Tracy Kidder brings us the indelible Deo, a Burundian medical student who survives the Burundian genocide in the mid-90s. He "escapes" to New York City with virtually no money and no friends or family to turn to for help and support and eventually returns to Burundi to set up a medical clinic for the poor. His survival and success causes anyone who anyone reading this book to ask themselves whether they could have not only survived such circumstances, but prospered after what he had been through. We view Deo with a sense of awe and respect for what he went through, how he overcame those nearly insurmountable obstacles and where he is now. If this book can't lift your spirits, you may not have a heart that is beating.

A few things make this book stand out above others of this genre. First, Kidder's use of flashback to alternate between the "present" and Deo's life in Burundi, escape to NY and eventual return to Burundi is far more effective and engaging than a linear approach to storytelling. The second thing Kidder does well is bring us closer to secondary characters that intersect and are instrumental in Deo's resurrection -- from the ex-nun who first befriends Deo in NY, to the Wolf's, the couple that take Deo in to live with them, to Dr. Paul Farmer. In other books, these secondary characters often remain nameless and faceless with little credit or importance placed on their role in helping the main protagonist overcome their obstacles. Kidder brings us close to these characters and reinforces their contributions in helping Deo overcome his past and becoming his new, extended family in his adopted homeland of America.

"Strength in What Remains" has a palpable undercurrent of "fear" throughout the book. This tone is set early with the stark horror as Deo hides from the ethnic killers and narrowly avoids the same fate. However, this fear remains with us through Deo's journey --- from the degrading and denigrating employer/boss Deo has at the grocery store to his first visit to Burundi during the reconciliation where tension and fear still lurks underneath the surface.

This is a book not to be missed. This is a book about survival and redemption that will leave a lasting imprint on anyone fortunate to get to know Deo's story.

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A story of human courage and triumph

The subject of Tracy Kidder's book has experienced horrors those of us lucky enough to have been born in the first world probably can't begin to comprehend. Deogratias Niyizonkia, known as Deo, grew up in the central African mountains of Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world. He overcame what might have seemed to be difficult odds--isolation and poverty--to enter medical school. He was nearing graduation when his world was shattered by a genocide that erupted in Burundi and neighboring Rwanda in 1993.

Kidder's narrative begins with Deo's arrival at JFK Airport in New York the following year. For the first half of the book, Kidder does a remarkable job of putting us in Deo's shoes. We see and hear what he sees and hears, without the benefit of understanding much of what is going on around him as he struggles to master a new language and life in a strange new land. Deo endured indignities great and small, but finally found a path to a home, stability, and eventual entry into medical school in the United States.

In the second half of the book, Kidder enters the narrative, as he meets Deo and gradually wins his trust and persuades him to tell his story. The two travel back to Burundi and retrace Deo's steps to freedom. It's a remarkable tale of survival and a remarkable story of the human will to transcend the worst horrors. Deo's ordeal could have killed him, or left him a walking shell, devoid of purpose. Instead, the world gained a man of great strength and compassion. Thanks to Kidder's gifts as a storyteller, we are privileged to get to know him.--William C. Hall

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The book was lacking

"Strength of What Remains" was a reading selection for my book club and I was the discussion leader. I read the book twice - once in print and the second time in audio. Because of the geography of Brundi, the audio version does not work well. This is the 5th Kidder book that I have read and my least favorite. It seems that Tracy Kidder got bored with the subject and wanted to fill the last pages with words. The book really needs a map of Brundi and a time line for Tutsi/Hutu issues. I urge readers to research Brundi and Rwanda on the Internet and search on "Strength of What Remains" on You Tube. It will make reading a better experience. I good map of Brundi is hard to find on the Internet, but a map should be close at hand when you reed the book. BBC has an adequate time line on the Internet that will be a help.

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Not as inspiring as it should be

The beginning of this book pulled me in quickly, and then it lost me. And the more Tracy Kidder pulled himself into the story, the faster it lost me. Some of his explanations of the political situation in Rwanda & Burundi were confusing, and hard to wade through. I was most interested in following Deo and his personal account. To me that's the most poignant way to learn about the struggles and situations in other countries and cultures is to truly see it through the eyes of the people who've been there.

It's tough to compare stories of Africa when I know there is tremendous suffering and struggle in so many countries. Each story and each struggle is unique, and to compare one to the other seems like it could minimize the horror. That's not my intention, but I've read other true accounts of struggles in Africa that made me feel more, made me care more. Kidder's book lacks solid direction and wanders terribly. I wanted to care more, and instead I had a very difficult time even finishing it.

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