A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Ishmael Beah's memoir tells the story of his time as a boy soldier who was forcibly conscripted to fight during the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. It's a compelling story, albeit one delivered in prose that's often flattened and vague and which often skitters past what would seem to be powerful opportunities for reflection and change. How much of that is the result of Beah's having spent those years on a powerful cocktail of drugs, and how much of it is Beah's unwillingness (inability?) to truly relive what—if this account is to be believed—must have been the killing of dozens of people? I certainly can't imagine what fortitude it must take to come through such experiences with one's sanity intact.

It should be noted, show more however, that there have been claims that these issues may be the result of Beah's having exaggerated or even falsified part of his narrative—most particularly an incident that Beah describes occurring at a UNICEF camp. (A much smaller point, but I myself found it difficult to believe that a precocious child who liked to discuss Shakespeare and to recite soliloquies from Hamlet had never heard the English word "snow" before first arriving in New York City.) show less

Aware of surrounding war in Sierra Leone but not yet affected, Ishmael, along with his brother and several friends, walked to a nearby village carrying hip-hop tapes for a talent show, a bunch of kids anticipating fun. While they were gone, the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) attacked their village, killing some and dispersing others, and the boys were separated from their families. After wandering for months without clear direction, seeking shelter in abandoned villages, foraging for food, losing some companions and gaining others, the remaining boys were collected by the government military and trained as soldiers. Then UNICEF intervened, Ishmael and others were taken to a rehabilitation camp, and from there a combination of luck, show more charm, and skill got him to the UN and the US.

The events of the narrative are controversial. The attack on his village definitely happened, but apparently two years after he claims, which changes his age at the time and changes the duration of his stint as child soldier. An incident at the rehabilitation camp, when former child soldiers of the warring factions were naively put together and got into a murderous brawl, is unverified and suspect. A hopes-dashed-at-the-last-minute opportunity to reconnect with family seems, in this context, a tad too conveniently dramatic. There is still enough truth confirmed for compelling if gruesome reading: children who had to survive and couldn’t afford to grieve, compartmentalized brutality with random moments of compassion. The political turmoil behind the war is minimized (an appendix presents the chronology); these were children, not political sophisticates, who were plied with drugs and motivated by revenge: the Other Side killed your family. show less

What I most admire about Ishmael Beah is his unflinching and unselfpitying manner of telling his story in A Long Way Gone: memoirs of a boy solider. His individual story of being a child who lost almost everything in a vicious war speaks for children caught in the same manner around the world. Losing his country, his family, and his friends, alone and wandering at twelve years of age, he is picked up and turned into a small killing machine, a child soldier. Given drugs, food, clothing, guns and ammunition, they are turned loose upon the country to kill and scavenge for their superiors.

By the time he was brought to the rehabilitation centre in the capital city, it was almost too late. Reawakening his humanity, finding relatives for him show more to live with, and starting to feel safe once more, only to have war break out again. Seeing the horrors start up again and knowing he had to escape or be dragged back into it, he managed to get himself across the border. Having been taken to America to speak at a UN conference, he was lucky to have people in America that worked hard to get him out of Africa and were able to bring him to the states to complete his education.

I could go into superlatives about this book, but would rather simply say it was a genuine and emotional read. show less

I saw the ads for this book when it came out and was curious, but somehow never got round to reading it. Then I found it cheap in Powells and made up for lost time. It’s an incredible read and unputdownable just doesn’t begin to describe it.

The world of the first chapter is close enough to ours to be easily imagined, but far enough away to fascinate. Boys play American music tapes and practice dance moves in the street and life is good. Then it all falls apart.

Seeing a world so real and normal change so drastically does something to the reader. You look around yourself and wonder how safe your own world is. How quickly things change.

But Ishmael and his friends are resilient. They move on. They create a life of their own, walking show more through hostile countryside, avoiding solders, seeking food, making and losing friends as they wonder if their families are still alive.

Hope inspired; hope betrayed; there are passages that are almost too hard to read and you weep for the child too suddenly turned to man. But again the story twists and scenes change around. Ishmael is thrust into yet another world, human kindness and human cruelty mixed.

This memoir of a boy soldier is a story that will stay with me, a must-read, and a tale that’s ultimately filled with hope despite its melancholy. show less

This book is going to break your heart. And you will never complain about your bad childhood again (ok, not really). Beah pulls no punches here--this true story of a kid who is forced to murder his own people is not a pretty one. But ultimately, it feels hopeful, or at least there is a feeling of redemption. For people who think they don't like memoirs or historical nonfiction--this one is told simply and powerfully. You won't be bored. --shannon

Rare is it to learn all about a nation by the tale of terror of war, loneliness, grief, and starvation told by a boy who walked much of the country first to try to escape the horror and then to take part in it. Ishmael was forced to become a soldier at 13, under the heavy influence of drugs continuously killing, killing, killing. It’s a heartbreaking true story about a boy who had a decent childhood forced into this macabre circumstances when he and his friends were on their way to participate in a talent show. Exceedingly smart, he has a photographic memory and could recite orations from Shakespeare at the age of 7. Fortunate enough to be released from soldiering and going through drug withdrawal he used all of his mental resources show more and bravery to get where he is today—a world-famous author and humanitarian. This is a very emotional hard but important book. Highly recommended. show less

Excruciating, harrowing, unbearable, the young life of Ishmael Beah, boy soldier, is a coming-of-age memoir that is heart-breaking and teems with blood and gore. It is a personal account of the political and social collapse of the country of Sierra Leone (west coast of Africa) in the 1990's and one boy's path to survival. Beah's story is one of "shock and awe" and it makes for a tense and sometimes nauseating read that ultimately inspires deep reflection into the horrors of the human experience. This book will jolt high school students into a reality check and an awareness of the plight of children in our world.