CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

Critical Book Review: Strength in What Remains

Rachael Bennett
Portland State University

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

Strength in What Remains is a book written by Tracy Kidder. It was originally published
in 2009 by Random House/ New York and this is a copy publishes in that same year. Strength in
What Remains is 251 pages long, 259 with the epilogue and 277 with historical notes, sources
and acknowledgements.
The world today is full of pessimists. Walking blindly throughout life never believe that
anyone would care about you, help you, or just say hello. Never mind God, the average human
being cannot be bothered to put his faith in something as simple as his fellow man. This creates
the barriers we see with the world today and many of the assumption we often create about other
people. Homelessness, Racism, Genocide can all be attributed to the lack of faith that people
have in one another. In Strength in What Remains, we are shown how all of these affect Deos
life and how his faith gave him the advantage to overcoming each of them. Giving us a glimpse
into how using faith can be the strongest motivator we have to overcome hardships.
There is no doubt that Deo faced hardships during his life. Tracy Kidder does an excellent
job at capturing these whether Deo is on the run in Burundi or facing homelessness in New York.
But another side that Kidder captures apart from Deos struggle is his continuous faith
throughout these hard times. One instance in which we see this faith time and time again is Deos
longing to be a medical student. Half way through his time in New York Deo begins to make
statements such as the following What was going to be his future? His life and the future he had
imagined had been not interrupted, but wiped out. (Kidder, 2009, 32) Though this statement
may seem dark, the optimism that is hidden beneath can be drawn from it. Deo may feel like his
future is at a standstill with nowhere to turn and no end in sight. But even as he feels like this he
never appears to give up hope on his dream, no matter how lost he feels. As readers we are able
to recognize this faith within Deo and the world around him, even when he cannot. No matter

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

where he is or what he is facing this belief in medical school appears to be what he turns to in
order to lift him out of the darkness around him. It would have been so much easier to give up
and abandon his dreams, stay a shop worker in New York and avoid all the hand outs that got
him through medical school but then he would never have reached his goals. Many situations
like this one are common throughout the book, as a hardship is presented, underneath you cant
help but see the glaring faith that will become help full in overcoming it.
Kidder is able to capture faith so well within the pages of Strength in What Remains, due
to the evident optimism within Deo. Kidder is able to present him not just as a relatable person
but someone you want to be. The faith that can be seen as a common theme throughout much of
the book can also be related to the reader in some way, and this gives it great power. Unlike other
themes of isolation or man vs. man, Kidder is able to convey the feelings that are associated with
faith to almost any reader and give them a continuous backdrop. For even at the end of the book,
we are still able to see how much faith Deo has in his future and Burundis; showing truly how
present the idea of faith is within this book.
For Kidder, Deo was his medium just as Deo was for faith; they could not have existed
without the other. This creates a story from a singular perspective, which some may argue
removes from the interworking of multiply perspectives, but then how could we have a narative.
With Deo as the singular narrator we are able to grasp more thoroughly his inner thoughts and
reasons for his actions. From his point of view and his only we hear his story, never interrupted
by what they might have thought or she might have said. This directly connects the reader to
Deo and much of what he is thinking. In the case of faith, this idea of a single narrator is ideal for
it is how we live our daily lives. Bombarded by outside influences and continually confused it is
true we are all pushed toward a certain ideal. But in the end it is just ourselves who make these

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

decisions on faith. With Deo it is much the same and given he is the leading voice within the
book, it is easy to see where he places his faith.
With Deo as the single story teller we get to see how his faith blooms and withers, but
never truly dies. Such as his encounter with Sharon, when first meeting her he states Maybe it
was just the tip that made him carry away an image of a beautiful person, of a woman who would
look elegant even if she were dressed in an old blanket. (Kidder, 2009, 52) but as time goes on
he becomes increasingly weary of her persistence and begins to see her as a the brother you
fought with for your share of the blanket (Kidder, 2009, 55) This kind of change in
perception of a person is unique to Deo and Deo alone and the faith he carries through this
perception is unique as well. No matter in Burundi or New York, Deo seems to place a strong
value on believing in something. This may be partially why he feels so reluctant to cast away his
faith in Sharon, for that is all hes had his entire life. This idea of believing in something or
someone has gotten him through countless situations and made him the person he is today.
Making it seemingly impossible to lose faith in someone over just how pushy they are being.
Much can be understood about Deo and the fellow characters within the book, but Tracy
Kidders writing style leaves many readers with continual questions. Much like a stream of
consciousness, Kidder weaves back and forth between the present and the past often leaving
ideas unfinished. This leaves readers with unanswered questions and in a stated of common
perplexity as they want to know more. But unlike a regular novel Kidder cannot just invent these
answers; they have to come from a source, in this case Deo. Whatever Deo has learned or
experienced is what we as readers are privy to finding out, making for a disconnect of messages
and ideas. Though we may have access to his life we readers are by no means able to directly
connect with his thoughts of the time creating holes within the perceived timeline. This stream of

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

consciousness style of writing also holds its pitfalls in keeping the reader entertained. For by the
end of the book there have been so many questions left hanging that seeing Deo reach his true
goal seem almost like a filler and utterly irrelevant.
Within the context of faith, Kidders writing style almost seems to lend to the theme
instead of remove. As he jumps from one moment to the next we are able to see just how greatly
faith can change with a particular circumstance or encounter. The theme of faith within the
context of Kidders writing style is interwoven between every memory on the page. It is able to
not only come alive but stay present throughout the entirety of his 255 pages showing the reader
just how truly import faith is to Deo. This also adds to the connections with the reader as it is
something for us to hold on to and look for even as our surroundings are rapidly changing.
Without such a writing style we would undoubtedly have a more linear and concrete timeline,
but it would lack the depth seen in the one kidder has implemented. Also much of the overall feel
of this book would disappear as well, for without Kidders writing style Deos story would lose
the connection readers are able to make from his unique style of storytelling.
Author Tracy Kidder weaves a narrative from the memories of Deo that make for a
superb work of literature. His writing style is unique and a homage to much of Deos thoughts
and actions in the moments. When it comes to interworking the theme of faith in a time of
hardship, Kidder is able to shine a light on the subject without making it overbearing. This
combined with Deos continual approach of the theme and its wide spread use throughout the
book; make it a novel every young adult should read in their life time. With its ability to connect
with readers Strength in What Remains is an invaluable book for those looking to bond with a
book on a deeper level. Though it may seem like an unassuming book; often leaving readers

CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW

continually perplexed, Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder can be a diamond in the ruff,
but only of course if you can have a little faith.

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7
References

Kidder, T. (2009). Strength in What Remains (1st ed., p. 277). New York: Random House.