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zamreads 's review for:
A Long Way Gone
by Ishmael Beah
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_.