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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
This book is a long series of very effective gut punches.
Genuinely I do not know how to rate nonfiction. Is this written in an extremely high-quality literary manner? No. It is written sparsely, with a detachment that feels odd to a reader given the horrific subject matter - but makes perfect sense if you think about the person who experienced it all trying to write about something he can barely stand to emotionally access.
Ishmael's village is attacked and destroyed by rebels during the Sierra Leone civil war. This book doesn't give you any understanding of why these things are happening, because from Ishmael's twelve-year-old perspective, it is incomprehensible.
This is the story of him on the run for his life, being drafted into the government's army at thirteen years old, and then at sixteen being extracted by UNICEF.
The running time period seems like a bad dream, in which nothing makes any sense and terrible things happen for no reason at all. The war years are the shortest section of the book. What's described is enough to help you understand generally what went on, but leaves enough unsaid that you can probably read between the lines. The anger, pointless butchery, and desperation is overwhelming.
What happens after Ishmael is taken from the army (by force) is absolutely astounding.
I am amazed by the way the people in Freetown were able to help the boys to "rehabilitation." How the boys literally killed each other in the school courtyard and regularly attacked the staff at the rehabilitation center with feral, mob violence -- and the staff kept coming back. And kept helping. And kept saying "none of this is your fault."
I'm in awe. How did they know how to do that?
The end of the book leaves a lot open-ended. We don't see the path Ishmael took to New York, though we know he eventually gets there, and we don't see the life he built for himself later on. Still, I think it's enough, and honestly my five stars are for the "rehabilitation" part of the story. Those people are incredible.
Genuinely I do not know how to rate nonfiction. Is this written in an extremely high-quality literary manner? No. It is written sparsely, with a detachment that feels odd to a reader given the horrific subject matter - but makes perfect sense if you think about the person who experienced it all trying to write about something he can barely stand to emotionally access.
Ishmael's village is attacked and destroyed by rebels during the Sierra Leone civil war. This book doesn't give you any understanding of why these things are happening, because from Ishmael's twelve-year-old perspective, it is incomprehensible.
This is the story of him on the run for his life, being drafted into the government's army at thirteen years old, and then at sixteen being extracted by UNICEF.
The running time period seems like a bad dream, in which nothing makes any sense and terrible things happen for no reason at all. The war years are the shortest section of the book. What's described is enough to help you understand generally what went on, but leaves enough unsaid that you can probably read between the lines. The anger, pointless butchery, and desperation is overwhelming.
What happens after Ishmael is taken from the army (by force) is absolutely astounding.
I am amazed by the way the people in Freetown were able to help the boys to "rehabilitation." How the boys literally killed each other in the school courtyard and regularly attacked the staff at the rehabilitation center with feral, mob violence -- and the staff kept coming back. And kept helping. And kept saying "none of this is your fault."
I'm in awe. How did they know how to do that?
The end of the book leaves a lot open-ended. We don't see the path Ishmael took to New York, though we know he eventually gets there, and we don't see the life he built for himself later on. Still, I think it's enough, and honestly my five stars are for the "rehabilitation" part of the story. Those people are incredible.
Warning to the potential reader: this is a very difficult book to read. There is violence and death as I have never seen before. Beah's memoir points to one inexcusable fact: no good comes from killing and war. Highly recommended to all.
Let us all be like the moon.
Let us all be like the moon.
A Long Way Gone is the memoir of Ishmael Beah, who was a child soldier in the war in Sierra Leone. Besides the first chapter or so, this memoir almost immediately launches into details about the war; needless to say, this is a heavy read. As all wars stories are, A Long Way Gone is horrifying and graphic and while reading, it was hard for me to grasp the fact that these were real experiences and events.
This memoir raises many questions about humanity and morality. It's purpose is not to send a message of hope or show how brave Beah was. It does not end on a positive note. But it does get the audience thinking. There is emotion behind it. There is a call for change.
The one thing that didn't really resonate with me was the writing style. Although it made sense in some parts, I felt very disconnected from Beah. There was a lot of telling instead of showing. Emotion words were used, but not described. Some of the events were quickly glossed over, even though Beah emphasized the importance of them. This is tricky however because it is Beah's life, and it is completely understandable if there were some parts of his story he didn't remember or didn't want to describe. Still though, A Long Way Gone is a memorable story that is definitely worth the read.
This memoir raises many questions about humanity and morality. It's purpose is not to send a message of hope or show how brave Beah was. It does not end on a positive note. But it does get the audience thinking. There is emotion behind it. There is a call for change.
The one thing that didn't really resonate with me was the writing style. Although it made sense in some parts, I felt very disconnected from Beah. There was a lot of telling instead of showing. Emotion words were used, but not described. Some of the events were quickly glossed over, even though Beah emphasized the importance of them. This is tricky however because it is Beah's life, and it is completely understandable if there were some parts of his story he didn't remember or didn't want to describe. Still though, A Long Way Gone is a memorable story that is definitely worth the read.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Quite hard to read at times, but very engrossing memoir of Beah's time as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone.
Good lord. Unbelievable that this could be the story of the childhood experienced by the smiling man pictured on the back cover. Just to forewarn you, while reading it I couldn't speak about the book without crying. Lauren and Bryce can attest.
This was a good book it painted a picture of Beah's life and what he had to go through at such a young age. I read this book on my lunch breaks and it would really bring me back down to earth. Sometimes we can get caught up in our own problems then you read about a 12 year old who got separated from his family, witnessed, and participated in things most grown adults will never have to. It can humble you.
The book feels unfinished. The ending was abrupt - how did he get to NYC? Any updates on the other people we read about?
Overall I enjoyed reading this - sheds light on children soldiers and what was happening in Sierra Leone.
Overall I enjoyed reading this - sheds light on children soldiers and what was happening in Sierra Leone.