Tuesday, March 4, 2014
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Sorry, my computer is not cooperating and allowing me to post a picture of the book.
My huband bought this book and immediately started reading it. It was interesting watching his reaction to the stories and events that unfolded as he read. It did not suprise me since I read Half the Sky. Actually, this book is not near as graphic as Half the Sky. If put my husband in poor spirits and he felt guilty for the life we have and we even discussed how it could be fair for us to be here with little to worry about instead of living in fear and fighting like many do.
Ismael Beah, the author, tells his story of how he become a boy soldier at the age of 13. It starts with him getting separated from his family and never seeing them again. He wanders around for a year with a group of boys part of the time and alone for a while before they are captured and forced to start fighting with the Leonean army. Many of his friends are killed and we follow Ismael as he spends over 2 years fighting and killing people in villages for supplies. He gets addicted to drugs and numb to killing.
Later he, along with the other child soldiers are taken to the city for rehabilitation and reintegration. He ends up living with his uncle and his uncle's family. He starts to go to school again and even makes a trip to New York to discuss his experience with others from other countries facing similar issues. Unfortunately the fighting makes it to the city Ismael lives in and Ismael finally decides to flee to Guinea in order to escape the fighting since he was sure he would eventually be forced to fight again or killed for not fighting. The book ends with him making it to the Leonean Embassy and unfortunately we do not hear how he made it to the US or even his experience trying to adjust to his new life.
All in all a good book. It is not very graphic, nor is the language bad. It is a good book to read.
My huband bought this book and immediately started reading it. It was interesting watching his reaction to the stories and events that unfolded as he read. It did not suprise me since I read Half the Sky. Actually, this book is not near as graphic as Half the Sky. If put my husband in poor spirits and he felt guilty for the life we have and we even discussed how it could be fair for us to be here with little to worry about instead of living in fear and fighting like many do.
Ismael Beah, the author, tells his story of how he become a boy soldier at the age of 13. It starts with him getting separated from his family and never seeing them again. He wanders around for a year with a group of boys part of the time and alone for a while before they are captured and forced to start fighting with the Leonean army. Many of his friends are killed and we follow Ismael as he spends over 2 years fighting and killing people in villages for supplies. He gets addicted to drugs and numb to killing.
Later he, along with the other child soldiers are taken to the city for rehabilitation and reintegration. He ends up living with his uncle and his uncle's family. He starts to go to school again and even makes a trip to New York to discuss his experience with others from other countries facing similar issues. Unfortunately the fighting makes it to the city Ismael lives in and Ismael finally decides to flee to Guinea in order to escape the fighting since he was sure he would eventually be forced to fight again or killed for not fighting. The book ends with him making it to the Leonean Embassy and unfortunately we do not hear how he made it to the US or even his experience trying to adjust to his new life.
All in all a good book. It is not very graphic, nor is the language bad. It is a good book to read.
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