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A review by bibliophobe
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
5.0
Earlier this year we picked up a couple of best sellers at Barnes and Noble for quite a good discount. Among them were a long time gone Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah and I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. You've probably already heard about Malala, she's a bright young woman who stood up against the Taliban's oppression of women, and took a bullet for it. I haven't yet read her book, but I have been intrigued by her since I first learned about her on The Daily Show with John Stewart. (Rest assured, I'll review that one soon.)
Ishmael's book caught my eye as I've heard a lot about boy soldiers, but never anything of substance, and especially not a first person account of what it's like or why they do it. So I dove in and I have to say, this book is a must read. It's right up there with Night as one of the best books that deals with the traumas of war and the hardship of being in the most difficult times and places.
The story begins with Ishmael living a normal life as kid in a they city. He and his friends have a band where they dance and rap, but then the rebels come and bring the fighting to his city. He and his friends run, in search of safety. But in a country ravished by child soldiers, he and his friends are feared as they enter town after town. They can find save haven for a couple days but often end up moving on in search of better, more stable places and in search of family.
Ishmael avoids several attempts for him to be recruited into the armies, but after a very long time on the run, he finds himself conscripted anyway. But the thing is, he does it willingly, since he believes he's working against the rebels who destroyed his village and raped the women of his town. After each battle the men give him drugs that heighten his senses and show him movies about great warriors (like Rambo), filling his head with notions of grandeur.
The book is an interesting and engaging story about a boy who lives a normal life but slides into a world he should never have known. It follows his dissent into violence and ultimately his freedom from that world. The twists and turns are real, and powerful.
To see more reviews check out my blog: This Sporadic Life
Ishmael's book caught my eye as I've heard a lot about boy soldiers, but never anything of substance, and especially not a first person account of what it's like or why they do it. So I dove in and I have to say, this book is a must read. It's right up there with Night as one of the best books that deals with the traumas of war and the hardship of being in the most difficult times and places.
The story begins with Ishmael living a normal life as kid in a they city. He and his friends have a band where they dance and rap, but then the rebels come and bring the fighting to his city. He and his friends run, in search of safety. But in a country ravished by child soldiers, he and his friends are feared as they enter town after town. They can find save haven for a couple days but often end up moving on in search of better, more stable places and in search of family.
Ishmael avoids several attempts for him to be recruited into the armies, but after a very long time on the run, he finds himself conscripted anyway. But the thing is, he does it willingly, since he believes he's working against the rebels who destroyed his village and raped the women of his town. After each battle the men give him drugs that heighten his senses and show him movies about great warriors (like Rambo), filling his head with notions of grandeur.
The book is an interesting and engaging story about a boy who lives a normal life but slides into a world he should never have known. It follows his dissent into violence and ultimately his freedom from that world. The twists and turns are real, and powerful.
To see more reviews check out my blog: This Sporadic Life