beasts of no nation

I finished reading the book, beasts of no nation by uzodinma iweala. A debut novel by a Harvard University graduate, making me jealous of this author already, it tells a story of a child recruited by rebel forces during a civil war inside an unnamed African country. The boy envied soldiers before the war strutting in uniforms gaining much respect and admiration from the villagers. The boy Agu dreams of being a soldier until he finds out that soldiers hurt people.

I would not recommend this book to someone unless they are sure they can stomach reading vivid details of murder, sexual abuse, drugs, and starvation. I was reminded of a line from The Last of the Mohicans: Death and honor are often thought to be the same, today I have learned they are not. If you have seen Saving Private Ryan or The Last of the Mohicans without puking or nightmares later on, I think you can handle reading this book. I like the ending where the followers of a greatly feared commander lose their fear of him, and leave him to go home. The boy Agu is only surprised that this escape didn't happen sooner, it was so easy to do.

The book is written from the point of view of a child so it is not written in proper English with colloquial language in quotes only. This book has no quotes, just commas when someone is saying something. That can be a little irritating if one is accustomed to reading books using proper English. The title and author's name on the cover also are not capitalized, if you didn't notice that. Otherwise, it was an important read to understand children thrust into adult situations without thinking like adults, because after all they are children. Post later. Bye!