Strength in What Remains

How could I have hoped that this book would surpass Kidder's last book? Impossible, really. I loved his last book and rated it one of my best reads of the year.

So the standards were high. If I take that off the table, and simple evaluate this book on its own merits, I nevertheless must admit to a bit of disappointment. It was a good read. But not a great one.

Why?

Kidder has chosen Deo, a refugee from Burundi, as the subject of his latest book. Deo is truly a hero. He has survived a genocide and has returned to Burundi to improve health care in that country.

I think my disappointment stems from Deo's story. Perhaps at Deo's bidding, much of the sensational details were omitted from the tale. Deo's struggle to survive seems easier, somehow, than I'd anticipated.
Please ignore my disappointment. This is a wonderful story, well worth reading. A good story, if not a great one.