A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

About A Long Way Gone

Author: Ishmael Beah

Pages: 229

Genre: Nonfiction

Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books

At the age of twelve, Ishmael Beah fled attacking rebels in Sierra Leone 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. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally,, to heal.

My Review

A Long Way Gone is a story about a young boy who becomes a soldier in a war that has taken away the most important things in his life. This book is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah, who is therefore, the main character. While not the best book I’ve ever read, A Long Way Gone is a really good read. Even though it confused me at times as I tried to put myself in the characters’ shoes, the story itself is hard to turn away from. While reading about Ishmael’s life, you begin to think about your own and put things into perspective. What is life really like during wartime? How does the war change people? This book was on the more challenging side for me, however, I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend this the novel to anyone looking for a nonfiction page-turner. It gives a completely different view of the world around us and portrays a strong conflict as the main character and his friends work together, and sometimes alone, to try to get through the war. A Long Way Gone teaches readers multiple lessons and brings to question many motifs, family being the one that sticks in my mind. We see that a family doesn't always have to be blood relatives. The memoir also takes into consideration and greatly portrays the extent to which people are willing to go to for their families and what family really means to people, especially when it’s taken away. This story puts the reader right in the view of a child soldier, the view that many of us have never experienced nor thought about. A Long Way Gone really makes me think about the world around me and how much I really have even though I may not always realize it. Overall, this novel is really worth reading. It provides a new perspective on life while telling an informational, entertaining, and sometimes scary story.