The Vegetarian Book Club

As I started reading “A long way gone” it seemed unfathomable to me that the citizens of Sierra Leone were not aware of the civil war raging in their country.Ishmael Beal was just a normal boy, part of a family unit that included parents, brothers and grandparents. He had never known hunger, he did not live in fear, and he even happily danced to American Rap. He was just a boy, whose main concerns were his appearance, dancing, and memorizing rap music lyrics. He had heard rumors of war in his country but felt that at times the stories were exaggerated. Then in what seemed like an instant his life dramatically changed. He went from an innocent child to a person exposed to the cruelty of humans at war. His priorities changed from dance to finding his family and survival. Ishmael describes the rebel’s cruel war tactics with such honesty and vivid reality that it makes my heart ache to think how circumstances can so swiftly change and effect lives. I know it will be hard for me to read this book as I sit in my cloistered living room, totally oblivious to the hurt and pain in our world. I will continue to read this book for no other reason other than to better understand and have more compassion for the things that are invisible to me but a reality to others. This is not a feel good book, this is a book that lingers in your mind long after you are finished reading the chapters.