Review: A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park

This is a devastating and touching portrait of what happens to people and society in war-torn, impoverished nations. As bleak as it often is, this is not a hopeless caricature of human civilization at its worst. In fact, it is hopeful and it shows how people often persevere when things get tough and this perseverance can help elevate a person's situation, even if it does take some time. Linda Sue Park's unsentimental, simple prose allows the story to flow smoothly and easily and adds to the power of the tragic and uplifting moments. Where this story excels is not in character, but in plot and its portrayal of life in a third world nation. This is a story everyone should read.

The story opens with Nya's story in Southern Sudan, 2008. She has to walk eight hours everyday to get water for her family. Nya's story is briefly told, just enough to give us an idea of survival in modern day rural Sudan, revolving around that ever-important source of life: water. The book mainly focuses on Salva, a boy, in Southern Sudan of 1985. His story opens with civil war forcing him to flee without his family, unsure if his family is even alive. He finds himself alone, unwanted, because adults fear he will just drag them down and use too much of their scarce resources. He finds help and kindness from very few adults, and as a young boy he little understands what is going on, except that his life is at stake.

These alternating story lines eventually connect, of course, but during much of the story they seem connected only by geographic place. Students of mine who have read, or attempted to read, have complained about confusion from these alternating perspectives. In that way, it teaches students the importance of prediction, as any good reader will trust that there is a purpose in telling these two stories, separated so far as they are by time - 33 years. But 33 years isn't all that far apart, in reality. We see that the conditions for Nya have not improved much, if at all, from where Salva comes, and where some things are better for Nya (no war), others are worse (harder to get water, no school). And the connection made between both stories teaches a powerful lesson about how history impacts us today. That is one of Park's many gifts from this book, to so powerfully, so simply, and so clearly show this connection between the past and now. A terrific read.