Beasts of No Nations by Uzodinma Iweala. Published by Harper Perennial, 2006

5/5

This is a powerful book that is difficult to read for all the right reasons. The main character is a young child forced to fight for a guerrilla outfit in a civil war. The narrative is disjointed, detached, and removed, breaking during the moments that are too painful to discuss. The plot is simple, and the timeline is linear, but there are breaks in the narrative that create a sense of confusion, capturing the mental state of an exhausted and dehydrated child. The events of the book are bloody and horrifying, but the detachment in the narrative prevents it from going into horror porn. There are scenes that are difficult to read and it was almost impossible to finish it, because one didn’t want to see what the boy child would be forced to do next.

The book is a great glimpse into what it is like to a child warrior, but that’s all it is. A glimpse. While the MC is the young boy, it would have been nice to have spent more time with the leader and some of the other children who had been forced into warfare. It would have been nice to see the leader’s motive and understand his psychology better. Also, the coup at the end wasn’t smoothly developed so it seemed a little random and made the plot meager towards the end.

Additionally, the very ending, with Agu under the care of the UN was a quick brushstroke and I’m not sure if the final sentence has the power the author wanted it to have. While Agu speaks about his family, the emotional resonance wasn’t quite there. I think it’s because the emotional growth and development of the characters wasn’t quite there.

But those are small critiques. Overall, this book is painful, short glimpse into a horrible practice that is far too common in the modern world.