ghoulgang

An interesting glimpse into the world of child soldiers in Sierra Leone. The best part of the book was that it read similarly to a "choose your own adventure book" except that in this case none of the options was conceivable. People who say "I would never behave that way" only have to look at Beah's choices to find that anyone, if given the choice between death and a gun, could be compelled to choose the gun. By seeing the villains as victims as well, we can get a glimpse into the tragedy of war. This book is a very fast read, and it just breaks the surface of the issue of child soldiers (it just breaks the surface of Beah's life as well, because it ends rather abruptly), but that does not mean it isn't educational, valid, and heroic. It is hard to show the details of our lives that we're least proud of. I think Beah did a remarkable job here.

2023-07-31 16:53