Take a photo of a barcode or cover
snugshelf 's review for:
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by Ishmael Beah
This was a hard read, as can be expected (or listen, since I got the audiobook version). Beah's memoir covers his childhood, starting when war broke out in his area and he had to go on the run to avoid being killed or forced into being a child soldier. As the reader already knows from the subtitle of the book, running did not work, and Beah is ultimately forced into the army and brainwashed into viewing the rebels the army is fighting as the enemy, and the ultimate reason for the upheaval of his life.
The writing is sparse, but with striking details that jump out at you every once in a while. Much of the book describes Beah and his various companions' travels before their conscription into the army, where they went for long stretches of time without regular food or water and were regarded with suspicion by almost every village they passed through, the villagers fearing that they were boy soldiers themselves. This portion dragged on a bit, but was necessary for understanding how the army was almost a welcome respite after Beah's struggles. In the village housing the army that the boys are taken to, they find peace for the first time in a long time. Until it's time to go to battle. Beah and his fellow soldiers fight for revenge for their ravaged villages and families, but none of them truly know what they're fighting for, ultimately. They're led around, following orders but kept in the dark as to the reasons why.
Beah's story is haunting in its horrible truths and the distant familiarity of it. I know that in far-off countries, terrible wars are being fought, and boy soldiers are still very much a reality. A Long Way Gone brings that reality to life, right in your face in a way you can't turn away from. It's not a pleasant book, but is an important one.
The writing is sparse, but with striking details that jump out at you every once in a while. Much of the book describes Beah and his various companions' travels before their conscription into the army, where they went for long stretches of time without regular food or water and were regarded with suspicion by almost every village they passed through, the villagers fearing that they were boy soldiers themselves. This portion dragged on a bit, but was necessary for understanding how the army was almost a welcome respite after Beah's struggles. In the village housing the army that the boys are taken to, they find peace for the first time in a long time. Until it's time to go to battle. Beah and his fellow soldiers fight for revenge for their ravaged villages and families, but none of them truly know what they're fighting for, ultimately. They're led around, following orders but kept in the dark as to the reasons why.
Beah's story is haunting in its horrible truths and the distant familiarity of it. I know that in far-off countries, terrible wars are being fought, and boy soldiers are still very much a reality. A Long Way Gone brings that reality to life, right in your face in a way you can't turn away from. It's not a pleasant book, but is an important one.