Currently I'm reading my next book club selection, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. This memoir recounts the journey of a young boy during the Sierra Leone war in the early 1990's. This is a difficult story to digest, although it's one of our shorter book club selections.
I'm finding that I can't read this book in long stretches, and like another member of the book club, I can't read this title before bed unless I want to be haunted by the events depicted by Beah.
Frank discussions of war are understandably difficult to read, but in this case, the point of view of a young boy turned soldier is particularly difficult.
I'm at the halfway point of the book. At this point I highly recommend the book, as I feel it's very clearly written, offers valuable insight into the tragedy of war, and the knowledge that the author is alive and well, and seemingly well-adjusted to life in the United States makes me feel there will be a message of hope in the end.
I'm looking forward to our book club discussion on Monday, December 3rd at 7 p.m. at Wayne College. I'm sure we'll be discussing topics ranging from the resiliency of children, how a peaceful person might be turned into a killer, and issues dealing with our government's decisions of involvement (or lack of involvement) in wars around the world. The question that keeps creeping into my mind is this: Could this happen here?
I'm planning on viewing the author's appearance on BookTV, which is scheduled for Thursday, November 22nd at 11:30 a.m. and again on Friday, November 23rd at 2 p.m.
If you're interested in discussing this book or just interested in seeing what a book group is about, please join us on December 3rd!
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