My new friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life. "Why did you leave Sierra Leone?" "Because there is a war." "You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?" "Yes, all the time." "Cool." I smile a little. "You should tell us about it sometime." "Yes, sometime."
This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived. In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
along way gone review:
Here it is a book about adventure and action, emotion and death. The memoirs of a boy soldier. The war in South Africa took its toll on thousands of people, emotionally and physically. Poverty plagues Ishmael Beah in Along Way Gone. Along Way Gone should be read by adults only. The book uses graphic description and profanity not suitable for minors or teens. The events in this book have happened and have happened to many children. This is nothing line any book I have ever read. Exciting and fun but at... more info
Opened my eyes:
I want to preclude this review by saying I do have some minor spoilers here to the plot but they don't give so much away that it would in any way diminish your enjoyment of this book. Having heard about the ongoing conflicts in Sierra Leone and knowing that often children in many different countries are forced into military service far too young I was drawn to this book and Ishmael's story. I was not disappointed. Ishmael's story begins as a young adolescent boy who lives in a village that is... more info
Too much empty space in the narrative:
An interesting story, but child soldiers fighting for the side of the government seem a lot less interesting than those fighting on the sides of the rebels. Here, although there were some harrowing, even blood curling incidents, they were spaced out far enough that there was a lot of empty space, both in the story and in the logic of the narrative. There was a lot of walking along isolated roads that led to nowhere and a lot of sleeping in the woods along those roads to nowhere. There was no sense... more info
INCREDIBLE AND HEART FELT:
When I put this book down all I could say was, "Wow." You feel the pain he must have been going through when he lost his family, you feel his anger at the way he was treated by the Rebels and you are shocked when the Rebels who claim to be siding with the people are killing the people with joy.
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