Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

9 reviews

loisro's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Vomit, War, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Drug abuse

annamwallace66's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Cursing, Drug abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Torture, Violence, War, Vomit, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Murder, War, and Drug use

Moderate: Trafficking, Death of parent, Slavery, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Vomit

Minor: Animal death

hamletslover's review

dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Physical abuse, Police brutality, War, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

verytwilly's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

4.25

The book makes interesting choices as to what to tell us and what not to as we follow along the journey. For example, we have quite a big exposition and falling action, with his time as a solider being relatively briefly explained. This may reflect the reality that the author didn’t remember everything perfectly, so some things he had more material to write than other aspects of his story. This may have also led to the embellishing or truth-stretching I’ve seen as critiques of the book.

Ultimately, I am currently of the belief that Beah makes all choices in his story deliberately and with a focus on the storytelling— the creation of an engaging narrative for the reader. This is evident to me for several reasons. The main storyline often blips back into some prior recollection associated with the current event, slowly giving us more information and fleshing out Ishmael’s previous life was providing juxtaposition to the present challenge in the narrative. There is also a focus on the importance of storytelling for his culture. This motif shows up several times and shows us how he reached the point of writing this story.

Finally, instead of having some satisfying ending for the story itself, where things are neatly wrapped up, he ends with one more story from his childhood about a common fable that was told and this really makes you question the meaning of that story and why he ended with it. You are left wondering and thinking about what it represents. In reality, I really appreciate this choice. We already know that things worked out in the end— after all, he wrote this book. He even starts with a prologue of him later on in New York City. Beah finishes the story with a lasting question for the reader instead of telling us what he know inevitably happens.

A Long Way Gone isn’t concerned with telling the reader every detail of the author’s experience, it seeks to show you just enough without being too heavy—handed with specifics along the way. Beah doesn’t shy away from the gruesome descriptions of war, but instead seeks to capture and reimagine them with fevered imagery that is cooled-off with glimpses into his childhood before the war.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence and War

Minor: Sexual violence

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

this was absolutely devastating but a story that needed to be told. Beah’s “recovery” and healing were so nice to see. be careful with content warnings!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Rape

literaryloquacity's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gore, Blood, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Kidnapping, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Drug abuse, Incest, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Torture

thatbookishrookie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Drug use, Gore, and War

888lcv's review

challenging dark informative tense fast-paced

4.25

loved analyzing this

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Child death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War