WHAT is the WHAT #8

When Achak woke up on page 158, he described it in a way for me to clearly visualize it. I know how it feels to see "pinpricks of white leap before my eyes..." On page 173, Phil Mays cries when he leaves Valentino after their first meeting. I'm not sure us he's cryinig tears of joy because he's helping Valentino, because Valentino's story might ewsemble a time in his life, or because he feels bad for Valentino. On page 175, Valentino personifies his stomach by saying, "I was at war with my stomach for my first year in America," and sounds real as if his stomach was a country or something. I thought it was a weird way to say his stomach is lactose intolerant.