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Beasts of No Nation

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Wow! Wow! Wow! 😢 If you thought the Netflix movie was raw, the book caught the STD. It’s 142 pages of humans at their worst. No spoilers. Everything I’m about to say is in the narrative. After witnessing his father’s murder, a 12-year-old boy (Agu) is recruited into a guerrilla unit as civil war engulfs his country. Boy soldiers make up the unit. The book never specifies which part of Africa, but it really doesn’t matter since you’re in the head of this child. If I had to guess, I would say Nigeria. A guy that goes by the title “Commandant” leads the guerrilla unit, and the book is about Agu losing his innocence. There are many raw and hard to read scenes. I loved that the author wrote the book in Pidgin English. It felt realistic. I recommend reading along with the audiobook. I found the narrator’s voice perfect. Warning: There are a lot of scenes that may trigger you. This book was disturbing, jaw-dropping, and eye opening. If I could compare it to anything, I would say Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane.


Next up: A long way gone by Ishmael Beah and An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina.

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a year ago