Gagan Kaul Blog

My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life.
“Why did you leave Sierra Leone?”
“Because there is a war.”
“Did you witness some of the fighting?”
“Everyone in the country did.”
“You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?”
“Yes, all the time.”
“Cool.”
I smile a little.
“You should tell us about it sometime.”
“Yes, sometime.”

This is one of the best books that I have read recently and I would recommend it to everyone. In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells us the story of his life till now - how he fled the rebels at the age of twelve during Sierra Leone’s civil war, only to end up as a child soldier at the age of thirteen. This is a gripping tale about how war and military affect the masses at large, and the challenges that every individual faces in their quest for survival. Walking hundreds of miles to flee rebels, he is taken in by army forces, who fuel feelings of revenge in children to avenge the slaughter of their families. It is rivetting to see a young boy transforming into a cold blooded killer in his early teens, with marijuana and brown-brown (cocaine mixed with gunpowder) becoming a part of his daily existence. It was very interesting to know how the children were fed a steady diet of movies like Rambo, the actions of which they actually used in their battle modus operandi.  The first killing is especially saddening - the one where Beah wins the throat-slicing contest.

The book has a good side as well as a dark side. The good side shows the unpolluted mind of a young child, who loves the daily mundane things in his village and yearns for compassion. The determination to survive and defend is another bright speck in the tail. The descent into the dark side is equally mesmerizing - joining the army knowing there is no other choice and finally becoming someone he set out to fight in the first place. The book proves that there is a very thin line between good and bad - in a war, you never know when the defenders become the killers.

Ishmael is finally rescued by aid workers. How it happens is not clear - whether the aid workers buy out his freedom or the army leader settles their release. He is brought to a rehabilitation center and counseled. Finally, he lands in US with the help of friends, and has now finished his studies at Oberlin College. The readers live the journey with Ishmael throughout; the easy writing style makes it seem that Ishamel is sitting next to you and talking.

The book has had its share of controversies as well. Transcending a thin border between fiction and a memoir, some facts are being challenged. You can read more about the book and the updates from Ishamel’s life on the site Alongwaygone.com.

Mesmerizing! Saddening! Full of Hope!

This book is a must read.