You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
this book is powerful and really simply descriptive. the description of the well-meaning but completely unprepared NGO workers is devastating!
I think this book would have been better if it was longer. I understand how Ishmael gets into the mentality of a soldier but I don't understand how he loses that mentality. He mentioned that he had friends who went back to fighting and I don't understand what stopped him from doing the same.
Difficult but important. I just wish there was more depth, in particular about his rehabilitation process.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Another book I wish I could give 4.5, but I would round this down to 4 instead. There are many positive attributes, for sure. Beah is a great storyteller, he punctuates this weighty, gut-wrenching story with moments of illusory beauty as well as some moments of unexpected hilarity, particularly near the end. And when I say gut-wrenching, I mean it - a lot of times this gets overused whenever there is a spark in ones gut, but this is like taking a series of sucker punches in a row.
On the other hand, as great of a storyteller Beah is, it's a memoir, not a story. There are few things that I wish he got into more that I would expect from a memoir and not necessarily story, particularly during the ending. Some parts of his life seem rushed and missing a lot of context that I would have wanted to know. It's not a very long book either so, seems like there was plenty of space to add more to the story.
Finally, out of curiosity I google the book afterwards and saw there was some controversy about its veracity. On the one hand, the fact that Rupert Murdoch is backing the accusations immediately puts it in a bad light, but it seems that some things can't really be corroborated. I don't know what exactly to believe anymore, and combined with some of the missing elements/weird ending, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
But, regardless of that, there are plenty of things that are undeniably true in the story to warrant a read, plus Beah relates it so well. Overall, a 4 out of 5.
On the other hand, as great of a storyteller Beah is, it's a memoir, not a story. There are few things that I wish he got into more that I would expect from a memoir and not necessarily story, particularly during the ending. Some parts of his life seem rushed and missing a lot of context that I would have wanted to know. It's not a very long book either so, seems like there was plenty of space to add more to the story.
Finally, out of curiosity I google the book afterwards and saw there was some controversy about its veracity. On the one hand, the fact that Rupert Murdoch is backing the accusations immediately puts it in a bad light, but it seems that some things can't really be corroborated. I don't know what exactly to believe anymore, and combined with some of the missing elements/weird ending, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
But, regardless of that, there are plenty of things that are undeniably true in the story to warrant a read, plus Beah relates it so well. Overall, a 4 out of 5.
I had this book sitting on my bookshelf for quite awhile and never got around to reading it. Then Hannah reminded me that I should pick it up.
Absolutely heartbreaking. A part of me is glad that I waited to read this book until after I became a mother because I was able to relate to the character in the book on a whole new level. He and all the child soldiers around the world are someone's child. During much of this book I had to pretend that I was reading fiction or I would have lost control of my emotions... not good when you are on a flight for work. Heartbreakingly beautiful. A wakeup call that everyone should read.
Absolutely heartbreaking. A part of me is glad that I waited to read this book until after I became a mother because I was able to relate to the character in the book on a whole new level. He and all the child soldiers around the world are someone's child. During much of this book I had to pretend that I was reading fiction or I would have lost control of my emotions... not good when you are on a flight for work. Heartbreakingly beautiful. A wakeup call that everyone should read.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Minor: Rape
Beah is recollecting her encounters and experiences as a boy soldier fighting during the Sierra Leone Civil War. His story and that of other children in similar circumstances mirror the savagery of war. It chronicles vibrant, brutal and unrestrained narratives of children being killed in cold blood, families being annihilated and communicated being decimated to ashes. Beah juxtaposes a world where humanity is long gone. Being alive hardly meant anything as one could be raped, mutilated and killed in a whim. In A Long Way Gone, Beah narrates his coming of age in a society that continues and remains war torn, optimism is constantly snatched by the repeated encounters of unrest, violence and death. Beah’s prose is visceral, he uses vivid imagery that evokes intense emotions of loss, despair, and abandonment. A Long Way Gone highlights that Beah was weaned in a society hinged on storytelling, he taps into the fountain of folklores of traditional stories that explain the origins of the world, natural phenomena and the actions of spirits entities.
Despite the uncertainties of war, Beah’s narrative isn’t all grim, bleak and visceral. The entire story is flavored by moments of beauty, significant encounters with people who still possess a profound humanity even during times when everything appears to be taken away, including kindness. There are soulful encounters with people willing to risk their lives to nurture the tortured wounds inflicted by the war on children.
Despite the uncertainties of war, Beah’s narrative isn’t all grim, bleak and visceral. The entire story is flavored by moments of beauty, significant encounters with people who still possess a profound humanity even during times when everything appears to be taken away, including kindness. There are soulful encounters with people willing to risk their lives to nurture the tortured wounds inflicted by the war on children.
Had me on the edge of my chair, I cried, I hoped, and I never put it down.