Critical Praise

“I really admire the uncompromising bravery of this book. Ishmael Beah has written a novel that moves between forms—part fable, part family epic, part poem. He doesn’t shy away from the horror, nor does he forget that the true function of storytelling is its ability to break our hearts. Reminiscent of Ben Okri and Chinua Achebe, Beah manages to lift the curtain on a world we cannot afford to flinch from.”
—Colum McCann, National Book Award–winning author of TRANSATLANTICand LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN

“UNICEF Ambassador Beah writes lyrically and passionately about ugly realities as well as about the beauty and dignity of traditional ways.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In 2007, Beah woke us from our slumbers with A LONG WAY GONE . . . Here, in his first novel . . . our heroes (like Beah himself) stay radiant to the end.”
—Library Journal

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