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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
I read this memoir for ENC1102 because that semester the author was scheduled to visit the campus for a book discussion, which I went to. I got to listen first-hand as the author explained his struggle from being a child soldier in Africa to being acclimated back into society. It was truly inspiring to have the chance to actually hear him talk and meet him. This memoir reads extremely well, like fiction in the way it grips at all of your emotions, refusing to let go long after you've finished reading. It isn't for the faint of heart, though, as the writing is extremely graphic in some parts as the author doesn't sugar-coat anything in the slightest. It also informs you more of what these children that are turned to soldiers go through (known as Invisible Children). I highly recommend reading this memoir.
I was a little worried this book would be too grim. While it certainly had some very grim and gruesome parts, it's overall message was one of hope. Ishmael Beah tells just enough of his experiences as a boy soldier to give the reader a good picture of what he went through, but he does not dwell on them--indeed, he fast forwards through two years of his life as a soldier. This was an excellent way to present his life, and this shows exactly what Ishmael is--he is much more than the boy soldier he was. Ishmael not only survives his ordeals, but surpasses them. I hope he can continue to heal the deep, psychological scars he bears and continues to work to keep other children from being victimized the way he was. I hope we can all work to find ways to make the world a better place for all children.
Everyone should read this book, and not just to learn to better appreciate our own first world lives.
A harrowing story of a young boy's experience in a war-torn country that employed children to fight and kill. Very powerful read.
It's unbelievable that this is non-fiction. Great book...made me think how lucky I've been.
The book is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah, whose childhood was affected by the Civil war in Sierre Leone. He had to run away and escape rebels, which led to him losing his family and narrowly missing death at many instances. To cope with starvation and survive, he joined the National Army and ended up being a child soldier who like other child soldiers in the civil war were handed guns and trained to kill with no remorse. He and the other kids were also put on a steady supply of drugs to keep them hooked on to this killing spree, the child soldiers were also brainwashed ito believeing that they were contributing to the country and seeking revenge for their families by fighting in the army.It is an eye opening book which brings into light how the childhood of hundreds of children are damaged because of conflict and war. It is definitely hard to read as some of the experiences affect you deeply.
“...children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance.”― Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Forced to join the RUF as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, Ishmael, at 25 years of age, has written a memoir of his childhood and his time with rebel soldiers.
This book is brutal and it's very clear to me that Ishmael has PTSD from his time with the RUF. I found his story a bit disjointed, but that's typical with how survivors recollect the awful things that happen to them. I cannot imagine a life like this or the strength it took to survive it.
“In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy and confusion.”― Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Forced to join the RUF as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, Ishmael, at 25 years of age, has written a memoir of his childhood and his time with rebel soldiers.
This book is brutal and it's very clear to me that Ishmael has PTSD from his time with the RUF. I found his story a bit disjointed, but that's typical with how survivors recollect the awful things that happen to them. I cannot imagine a life like this or the strength it took to survive it.
“In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every pain, every suffering, joy and confusion.”― Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
In his disturbing, but ultimately hopeful memoir, Ishmael Beah describes his experiences as a boy growing up in Sierra Leone during a brutal civil war. His harrowing journey changes him (with frightening speed) from a boy who quotes hip-hop lyrics and Shakespeare monologues and loves to dance to a "lost boy" wandering from village to village without a family.
When rebel forces destroy his village, he is separated from his family. After spending several months trying to survive on his own, he is recruited by the national army . At the age of twelve, he becomes a soldier. For the next three years, he is immersed in a nightmare of drugs and senseless violence and takes great pride in his ability to torture and kill his enemies. The national army and the rebels are like two rival gangs, caught in an endless, unthinking cycle of vengeance and brutality.
When Beah is 15, he is taken to a UNICEF-sponsored rehabilitation center. At first he is angry about being taken from his unit, but he gradually begins to reclaim his humanity and come to terms with his past.
A powerful and heartbreaking memoir of war. A must read.
When rebel forces destroy his village, he is separated from his family. After spending several months trying to survive on his own, he is recruited by the national army . At the age of twelve, he becomes a soldier. For the next three years, he is immersed in a nightmare of drugs and senseless violence and takes great pride in his ability to torture and kill his enemies. The national army and the rebels are like two rival gangs, caught in an endless, unthinking cycle of vengeance and brutality.
When Beah is 15, he is taken to a UNICEF-sponsored rehabilitation center. At first he is angry about being taken from his unit, but he gradually begins to reclaim his humanity and come to terms with his past.
A powerful and heartbreaking memoir of war. A must read.
Beah's account of his time as a child soldier in Sierra Leone and his subsequent rehabilitation is not for the meek or faint of heart; Eggers wasn't equivocating when he called this memoir "raw." Beah's story is one that should be told and listened to, but be prepared.
Make no mistake: this is a striking and very blunt narrative of severe trauma. There were several times that I flinched while reading a sudden declaration of rape, slaughter, dismemberment, torture, or assault. The battery of such direct renderings of traumatizing images and events share a fragment of Beah's shock with his readers in a way that appropriately allows function and form to meet on the page. Because of this, _A Long Way Gone_ could be a very troubling read, particularly for readers who are survivors of rape, wartime, or abuse themselves.
Beyond exploring the human rights violations that must at least be witnessed through conversation (whether literal or literary) in order to hopefully work toward solutions, the book also touches on complex and important themes like the nature of humanity, family, and ethics. If a reader is in a place where he or she can work through the sudden, direct sharing of traumatic imagery and still work through the multiple instances in which family is redefined, the value of storytelling is reified, the nature of humanity and aid are pressed, or paradoxical ethical arguments are laid bare, there is a lot to be taken away from _A Long Way Gone_.
Make no mistake: this is a striking and very blunt narrative of severe trauma. There were several times that I flinched while reading a sudden declaration of rape, slaughter, dismemberment, torture, or assault. The battery of such direct renderings of traumatizing images and events share a fragment of Beah's shock with his readers in a way that appropriately allows function and form to meet on the page. Because of this, _A Long Way Gone_ could be a very troubling read, particularly for readers who are survivors of rape, wartime, or abuse themselves.
Beyond exploring the human rights violations that must at least be witnessed through conversation (whether literal or literary) in order to hopefully work toward solutions, the book also touches on complex and important themes like the nature of humanity, family, and ethics. If a reader is in a place where he or she can work through the sudden, direct sharing of traumatic imagery and still work through the multiple instances in which family is redefined, the value of storytelling is reified, the nature of humanity and aid are pressed, or paradoxical ethical arguments are laid bare, there is a lot to be taken away from _A Long Way Gone_.
Easy read.
What I liked about this book is that despite the fact that it is a personal memoir I feel like it isn't trying to tug on your heart strings for merely one boy instead it seems to be opening your eyes to the injustices in Sierra Leone through one of many boys' stories. Although there are touching personal moments in the book, it is general enough to make the reader realize that many of the names could have easily been changed and in turn, been portraying the story of another one of the thousands of children affected by the civil war in Sierra Leone.
What I liked about this book is that despite the fact that it is a personal memoir I feel like it isn't trying to tug on your heart strings for merely one boy instead it seems to be opening your eyes to the injustices in Sierra Leone through one of many boys' stories. Although there are touching personal moments in the book, it is general enough to make the reader realize that many of the names could have easily been changed and in turn, been portraying the story of another one of the thousands of children affected by the civil war in Sierra Leone.