This is a fairly short book, beautifully written, that took me a very long time to read. I believe that is a high compliment to the writer. The events were so vividly portrayed that I could only absorb so much at one time. Ishmael Beah writes simple and directly. He lets the inherent drama of the situation speak for itself, and it is announced loudly from these pages.
The book begins with Beah is a child amidst a civil war in his country, Sierra Leone. He and his friends have to flee from his village, leaving their families and homes beihnd. He witnesses brutal slaughters. He sees loved ones die. At one point he is drafted as a soldier and he begins to fight, to kill. Eventually he is able to attend a rehabilitation program though UNICEF and there he begins to face all that has happened.
If I were to teach a memoir class, I would have students read this book to learn how to simply show and tell something. Nothing needs to be amplified. The truth rings out poetically, with humility and clarity. It is a very powerful memoir.
