A Long Way Gone Ch. 21

This last chapter took me very much by surprise. I never expected the rebels and the army to come together to fight and i also never expected them to come back to where Ishmael Beah was living currently with his uncle. Mohammed had also joined the family! I was happy when I read that! I thought that everything was coming together finally for Beah, but then the rebels and soldiers attacked the town! I thought that he was going to go insane with all the memories that could come flooding back! He didn't really talk about having too many memories come back to him, though, because he didn't let them. Some escaped, but he kept them pretty tamed. Then, when I read that his uncle was becoming ill, I became sad. It was heartbreaking that the family was trying to help him and get him a doctor, but with the rebels and soldiers there, it made things very difficult. Then, it became even more heartbreaking when Ishmael Beah's uncle died in his hands. My eyes were watering and I felt like I was about to cry. Thinking about it right now makes me even sad. Later, when Beah was on his trip to escape the town, I was worried for him. I knew that he made it out alive, but it still worried me. It was a little bit confusing when he said, "I had entered the country illegally, which I knew would later become a problem" (Beah 216). He didn't come back to that subject, so I don't know how it became a problem. I mean, entering a country illegally is a problem for anybody, but he never explained what type of problem. Overall, this was a great book. It was one of the best nonfiction/autobiography books I have read so far! Ishmael Beah did a wonderful job writing. He really did make me feel as if I was right there beside him as he recounted his memories. Although, I will never know what things actually felt like for Ishmael Beah, but I do know that it is not easy to come back from something as horrible as what Beah was, a child soldier. I think that being a soldier has made Ishmael Beah who he is today. When I go to hear him speak at Clowes Hall, I really hope that I get the chance to meet him. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. : )