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Search - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
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Book Description:
My new friends have begun to suspect I havent told them the full story of my life.Members who requested this book also requested:
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, hed 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.
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Top Member Reviews
Candy B. (
9 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book cut deep, very few books make me want to cry, throw things and feel disgusted all at once. You can't help but feel sorry for the author, he lost everything, his family, friends, home... you can't help but cry at the images of these people being killed, the descriptions of what went on in his area of the country. And you can't help but be angry at the author when he describes killing someone, almost gleefully - yet... you have to remind yourself that he was 12. He was really given no real choice other than death for himself. This story pulled me in and in the end, I felt sad for him now, he's still only 25 or so, the horror he must relive... I just cannot imagine.
I hope there is a second memoir. I was disappointed that we didn't find out how he got out of Guinea to the United States and how he got through the next 6 years of his life.
Emily C. (
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
I found this book hard to put down since I kept waiting for things to improve for Ishmael. The end was so simple that I felt a bit let down but this is a memoir and real life rarely results in a nice, little package. His accounts of wartime actions were honest and to the point which included many horrific killings. I did not find it excessively violent but rather descriptive enough that you could understand his life during that time. I would love to hear more about Ishmael's transition to life in America which I am sure was extremely difficult. Another great book to read if you like a child's perspective on wartime is "First They killed my Father."
Brandy S. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I would agree that this book is slightly overrated, HOWEVER, it is still good. The timeline was interesting, especially to me to compare what I was doing in my life while this poor 13 year old boy was made to carry an AK47, slit peoples' throats, and stab people as torture. How he came out normal enough to live in New York and write a book and graduate college I will never know. No one should have to endure the loss and attrocities he's had to, and many of his friends did as well. He's extremely lucky to be alive.
Janet G. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I was so excited to finally get this book and couldn't wait to start reading it. After all the awesome reviews, I knew it was going to move me.
It didn't.
I would say this is one of the most overrated, over-hyped books.
Elizabeth R. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Although the story he tells is remarkable and the author is clearly a person to be admired, I had unanswered questions after finishing this book. It seems that within a few pages the author goes from being a sociopathic yet naive killer to being a model student. I wish this book would have gotten me inside his head more during this period of time. What changes in his thoughts and heart took place? At what moment in time was he able to see the world and other people differently, and what were his feelings at the time? Despite that, this book is still worth reading because the author and his experiences are so unique.
Sara M. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I was really looking forward to reading this book - it wasn't worth all the hype at all!
While the story was intersting, I couldn't get into it due to the incredibly boring writing. I tried to force myself to enjoy this book, but I couldn't do it. I wish the writing had been more engaging as it could have been a great read!
Frances F. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a haunting book that can be spellbinding. However, I would caution the squeamish and exceptionally tender-hearted reader, since it is VERY graphic and enormously sad in most of the book. I was glad to read it, and found it hard to put down. But I am recommending it only to others with the above caution.
Keri W. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I can't say how awesome this book is. I have read "memoirs" before and have always been bored really quickly and don't usually finish them. This one though I was entranced and he pulled me in. Be ready though there is a lot of killing and blood shed, but it is to be expected with what he had to go through. The descriptions of the places in Africa where he went while he was in the Army were awesome. He was 13 when he entered the Army...just imagine your entire childhood whisked away like that. The ending is a positive one though. If he ever writes another book, I will be first in line to get it. I highly recommend this one and i'm only parting with it so I can help spread his word.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
It is out of character for me to pick up something as deep as this book - I'm strictly a fiction kind of gal, but I was compelled to read this story. It was very emotionally difficult to get through, but I am so glad that I did. Read about the life of Ishmael Bael in the civil war of Sierra Leone touched me deeply, as well as opened my eyes to the trials facing children in other areas of the world. It is well worth the detour from my typical fiction books. I've bought the book for family members since. Highly recommend.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
One of the best books I've ever read. The story is told beautifully and in amazing detail...it really makes you feel like you are there and can understand everything he is going through. It's a haunting story that stays with you.
Rate These Member Reviews
Compelling, eloquent writing. Heart wrenching at times. Shocking too. Ishmael Beah has overcome odds that would sink all but the most courageous.
Heart breaking book! Loved it! It was sad but hopeful!
Julienne M. (Good book. Depressing at times, and you want to put it down - but can't.
Follow the life of Ishmael as he escapes civil war in his village only to end up becoming a solider for the army then on to rehab for childhood soliders. This book is tells the story of childern who get swallowed up by war and unrest. Ishael's story is also one of courage. This young man is one of the heros of our generation.