Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
So this was probably the first memoir I've ever read. Maybe not, but it is most certainly the first one in recent memory. I feel so conflicted after reading this book. The most obvious reaction is a newfound sense of gratefulness for what I have, those things that I've always taken for granted only to realize that, well, quite frankly, THEY'RE NOT. By far.
Ishmael Beah's account of his harrowing and traumatizing time spent as a refugee and child soldier amidst the gruesome turmoil of the Sierra Leone Civil War provoked in me a sense of utter horror tempered by a wisp of doubt. Okay, it was more than a wisp. Like maybe a great big swath of doubting. The narrative is excruciatingly detailed at points, which is rather questionable. Can a person really remember the color of the sky and the exact dialogue and actions of a day more than 15 years ago, no matter how traumatizing the day was? Certainly I know I can't! Heck, I can't even remember the precise conversation I had an hour ago, let alone years and years past. Beah's defense is that he has a photographic memory, thus allowing him the ability to recount such details to the nth degree.
But nit-picking and the accuracy of the account aside, A Long Way Gone instills in me a great big tangled knot of feelings. Disbelief, that such cruel events could have taken place in our world. Horror, that hundreds of thousands of mere children are being forced to take up gun and drugs to fight for such a cause. Outrage, for the pointless bloodshed and separating of families and thousands of lives extinguished for naught.
A Long Way Gone makes me want to charge out to the world right now and start doing some good.
I don't know what to rate this. Certainly this book was amazing but not in a sense that merits 5 stars. I appreciate the opportunity to read such a powerful book, but that doesn't necessarily mean I loved or liked it. I feel like to do so would be to accept the horrors abound in the story. It was certainly not "okay" and I didn't not like it. There should be a rating for books that amaze but not in a good happy-feeling-inducing way.
Ishmael Beah's account of his harrowing and traumatizing time spent as a refugee and child soldier amidst the gruesome turmoil of the Sierra Leone Civil War provoked in me a sense of utter horror tempered by a wisp of doubt. Okay, it was more than a wisp. Like maybe a great big swath of doubting. The narrative is excruciatingly detailed at points, which is rather questionable. Can a person really remember the color of the sky and the exact dialogue and actions of a day more than 15 years ago, no matter how traumatizing the day was? Certainly I know I can't! Heck, I can't even remember the precise conversation I had an hour ago, let alone years and years past. Beah's defense is that he has a photographic memory, thus allowing him the ability to recount such details to the nth degree.
But nit-picking and the accuracy of the account aside, A Long Way Gone instills in me a great big tangled knot of feelings. Disbelief, that such cruel events could have taken place in our world. Horror, that hundreds of thousands of mere children are being forced to take up gun and drugs to fight for such a cause. Outrage, for the pointless bloodshed and separating of families and thousands of lives extinguished for naught.
A Long Way Gone makes me want to charge out to the world right now and start doing some good.
I don't know what to rate this. Certainly this book was amazing but not in a sense that merits 5 stars. I appreciate the opportunity to read such a powerful book, but that doesn't necessarily mean I loved or liked it. I feel like to do so would be to accept the horrors abound in the story. It was certainly not "okay" and I didn't not like it. There should be a rating for books that amaze but not in a good happy-feeling-inducing way.
I trouble getting through the first part of this book written in Q & A format. I may try again because the content is important, but the format chased me away.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
An amazing and inspirational journey of a young mans life through the African jungle and his struggles to find his future.
This is the extraordinary story of a young boy from Sierra Leone who, after escaping the rebels who came to his village, was conscripted into the army, aged 12. He lost his family and he certainly lost his childhood, as he witnessed and performed the most frightful acts. He was rescued and, over time, was rehabilitated. Ishmael Beah writes beautifully and this book taught me a lot about Sierra Leone and about hope. There are people in my town who left Sierra Leone as refugees and I think it is so important that we know and care about where they came from.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The stark contrasts in our lives; the sheer rawness, pain, and misery Ishmael suffered--this book took my breath away.
Wow, talk about intense. I'm not good at gory scenes but in the context of the book (it's a true memoir), they are necessary in invoking the tragedy and chaos of this social issue. It's a miracle he lived and important for everyone to know this story.
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense