Book Club Friday: A Long Way Gone

It's Friday, Friday! Hooray! I actually took today off from work, so it's another 3-day weekend for me, and I plan to spend it celebrating my bff's birthday up in Lancaster, PA! We rented rooms, scheduled massages, and plan on having a low key, cozy weekend complete with a hot tub, great dinner reservations at a local pub, and of course lots of wine!

But before we set off, I want to share my most recent read!

This week I'm sharing...

From GoodReads:

"...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, 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.

This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty."

My Thoughts:

Ishmael Beah tells his story in a direct manner, not devoid of emotion, but in a way that you still feel his fear, perseverance and determination. It is a sad story of extreme loss and heartache, but with a happy ending. He tells the story not as though he is looking back on old memories, but though he is still living it, if that makes sense. It recounts the horrific scenes of a war torn country with point blank clarity. He is a survivor in the truest sense. He even adds some humor (whether on purpose or not) when describing some of the positives that come out of his situation, such as coming to The Unites States and experiencing cold, snow, and trying to work a metallic box, or elevator. I also really enjoyed how he loved rap and reggae music so much. It was surprising but awesome to see some of the old-school rap lyrics within the pages, and see how others reacted to it and enjoyed it, even making up their own lyrics and dances to it.

The only thing lacking was that some of his tales seem unfinished. He introduces characters, they disappear, and then they are re-introduced with no real explanation. His uncle has other children that are not his own, but we don't know where they come from, and no one questions where he came from even when he says that his uncle didn't tell them. That seems unrealistic. His uncle doesn't really question why his "son" is going to New York which also seems odd. Mohamed comes to live with them, but we don't know how or why. Some aspects were just left unanswered.

What are you currently reading?