A long way from enjoyable.
Written: May 16 '07 (Updated May 17 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: -
Cons: -
The Bottom Line: three stars out of five
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| mycouponz's Full Review: Ishmael Beah - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy S... |
In February, Jon Stewart had Ishmael Beah as his guest on the Daily Show. It so happened that Beah was promoting his book, and what struck me was one of Stewart's comments:
"...a book that makes my heart hurt".
I have to agree with Jon's sentiment. I really did not enjoy the book as I read through it. I'm not sure that it's a book that can be enjoyed. At times I was sympathetic for Beah's situation, perhaps saddened by what he was thrust into.
A couple weeks ago, I finished reading Anne Frank's diary. It's also a story of hardship endured under some of the most unbearable conditions. Yet somehow, I enjoyed reading the book, even though I knew how it would end. Only at the end of the Frank's diary, when it details the outcome of all the people in the story, does it hit home. Somehow Anne Frank's diary is able to contain some of the heartache and sadness, spilling most of the former and latter only at the end. Beah's story is completely the opposite.
Beah's story begins in Mogbwemo, Sierra Leone where he lives with his parents and siblings. He's a young teenager with a love for rap music. Not long after he leaves his town for a talent show 16 miles away, he hears that Mogbwemo has been attacked by rebels and that everyone who was able to leave had fled. In the town where the talent show was to take place, Beah sees children and adults from his hometown in shock, still escaping the madness. The children wander aimlessly, calling out for their parents. One mother walks through the town with her newborn on her back, only to realise that the baby's dead.
Ishmael and his friends decide that it won't be long before the rebels come to this town, so they leave. Thus starts Beah's long journey, as he battles to find sustenance, strength and motivation to carry on. Most of his journey is completed without any knowledge of the whereabouts or condition of his family. Months pass as Beah walks from one town to another, avoiding both the rebel fighters and the government forces. Finally, he decides to relent and, figuring he has no other choice, walks into an army-controlled town. At the age of thirteen, Beah becomes a soldier.
From the moment he first clutches his first AK-47, he doesn't want to let go. It might not be so much the power it gives him, but also the brain-washing that goes on. The army insists that the rebels are to blame for all the murdering and pillaging that's going on. The kids are also fed a steady diet of drugs to keep them single-minded. By day, they traverse forests looking for towns controlled by rebels. By night, the drugs and war movies come out.
Day by day, Beah recounts the story as if the reader is following behind him. It's hard not to feel sorry for him - what else is a twelve or thirteen year old to do? Before he joins the army, his group of friends is met with skepticism and brutality by each tribe they come into contact with. It's understandable, considering the kids look just like the other groups causing all the havoc.
I did not like the way that Beah draws his story to a close. I felt like it left me with more questions than answers. I also didn't like the fact that Beah does not go into much detail about why all the fighting is going on. I suppose it's understandable, considering the fact that he's trying to relay the story from the perspective of a child.
One has to wonder what happened to all the children and teens who were involved in the war and somehow survived. Many are orphans now, but what about their education? Will they catch up on what they missed, or just give up on school? One thing's for sure - they will never get their innocence back, and it's really a shame that they had to be a part of such a disaster.
I wouldn't say that this is a lousy book, or that it's poorly written. This is far from the truth. However, I found it a struggle to get through the book because I was not enjoying it. I didn't feel like the book had much suspense, and I didn't feel attached to any of the children. As such, the outcome just didn't do much for me. I was happy that Beah was around to tell his story, and relate his experiences. Deep down, he seems like a down to earth kid. His message is a valid one - that deep down, we're all capable of unspeakable atrocities. Luckily, without certain stimuli, it's a part of most people that will never come out. I'm giving this book three stars out of five.
a long way gone
Ishmael Beah
229 pages
Recommended:
No
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mycouponz
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Member: Cozmo Kramer
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