“A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah

I knew of the controversy surrounding this book before I read it, but would have questioned some of the contents in any case. Billed as a memoir of Ishmael Beah, recruited into the Sierra Leone army in his teens, there have been widespread reports about inaccuracies and falsehoods in this tale. As one critic pointed out, the chance of all of these things happening to one person is doubtful. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Certainly, some parts, as I mentioned, are improbable. The most glaring of which is the section in which Ishmael is one hillside away from meeting up with his family, all of them having spent months wandering tremendous distances after their village is destroyed, only to have the family killed just as he runs to meet them. In fiction, we would not blink an eye at this, understanding the nature of a literary work – as nonfiction it raises some doubts. Another issue, to my mind, is what Mr. Beah does *not* say. Early on, he makes a point of talking about how the rebels work to keep villagers nearby as human shields, but once he is in the army Ishmael only talks about attacking villages with nothing but rebels in them. No mention of civilian casualties is made, nor is there any discussion of soldiers raping women, which is highly suspect given that rapes are commonplaces in these situations. One sentence, a vague one in a book of extreme detail, mentions a blood-covered gym where a school dance was taking place. It is never made clear what Ishmael’s role was in this killing. Mr. Beah does recount with blunt phrasing the deaths of friends and strangers, but near the end he adds the death of one friend only in footnote, noting that the boy sat near a wall with a hole in his head. Was it friendly fire? We may never know. Lastly, for a book about being a soldier, the story focuses far more on the running from war than on the actual soldiering, which takes up less than the last third of the book. The inconsistencies and inaccuracies can be easily explained in many ways: post-traumatic stress, survivor guilt, Mr. Beah’s clear need to be the hero of his own piece and his role as a spokesman for these children, which certainly could lead to the tendency to elaborate or combine stories for affect. This is, as he clearly points out, a story-telling culture. The question in my mind is: does it matter? Some things are very clear. Mr. Beah *was* recruited into the military at a very young age. He was given drugs (a common practice in Sierra Leone) and his entire family was slaughtered in a civil war that killed more than 50,000 people over 10 years. He certainly was witness to, and most likely a participant in, some horrific acts. If we accept that this story does have a truth to it for far too many children around the globe, then it can be considered a worthwhile read for anyone who wants to open their eyes to the daily tragedies that affect many on this planet. I believe that it is not important whether every event in this book happened to Ishmael Beah, but it is critical for teens of this country to understand what it means when they see news reports of ethnic fighting in far-flung nations. Mr. Beah’s story is accessible, if not brutal in parts, and makes a strong statement about the unending nature of war. I strongly recommend it for teen and adult readers, but caution that it is “too much” for younger readers and will be fully understood only by those who can look past the detailed descriptions of massacres to see the overlying points. A painful read at times, make sure to follow it with something to lift your spirits.