ISHMAEL BEAH

My new friends have begun to suspect that I havent told them the full story of my life."Why did you leave Sierra Leone?""Because there is a war.""You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?""Yes, all the time.""Cool."I smile a little."You should tell us about it sometime.""Yes, sometime."This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped up on drugs and wielding AK 47s. There are more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide and it is estimated there are some 300,000 child soldiers fighting. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first person account from someone who came through this hell and survived. Ishmael Beah, now twenty five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve in Sierra Leone, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, hed been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found he was capable of truly terrible acts.This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

En 1993, durante el ataque de un grupo rebelde armado a la población de Mattru Jong (Sierra Leona), Ishmael Beah, de 12 años de edad, se ve obligado a escapar hacia la selva, esquivando los cuerpos de los aldeanos abatidos por la disparos. Tan solo unos dias atras, Ishmael, su hermano Junior y su amigo Talloi habian partido desde Mogbwemo, enfundados en vaqueros holgados y decididos a caminar 26 kilometros para demostrar sus habilidades como raperos en un concurso de talentos. Nunca podrian haber imaginado que aquel dia luminoso y fresco de enero seria la antesala de la experiencia mas siniestra que la vida les ofreceria. Acompañado de otros niños, Ishmael recorre los pueblos cercanos rastreando a su familia y buscando cobijo y comida. A pesar de su entereza y sagacidad para sobrevivir, el pequeño Ishmael es reclutado por las fuerzas armadas del Gobierno. A partir de ese momento, con un AK-47 colgado al hombro y aturdido por el consumo de drogas que le suministraban sus superiores, el niño Beah transitara las entrañas de una guerra civil monstruosa que dejo al menos 50000 civiles muertos.

A haunting, beautiful first novel by the bestselling author of "A Long Way Gone "When Ishmael Beah's "A Long Way Gone" was published in 2007, it soared to the top of bestseller lists, becoming an instant classic: a harrowing account of Sierra Leone's civil war and the fate of child soldiers that "everyone in the world should read" ("The Washington Post"). Now Beah, whom Dave Eggers has called "arguably the most read African writer in contemporary literature," has returned with his first novel, an affecting, tender parable about postwar life in Sierra Leone. At the center of "Radiance of Tomorrow" are Benjamin and Bockarie, two longtime friends who return to their hometown, Imperi, after the civil war. The village is in ruins, the ground covered in bones. As more villagers begin to come back, Benjamin and Bockarie try to forge a new community by taking up their former posts as teachers, but they're beset by obstacles: a scarcity of food; a rash of murders, thievery, rape, and retaliation; and the depredations of a foreign mining company intent on sullying the town's water supply and blocking its paths with electric wires. As Benjamin and Bockarie search for a way to restore order, they're forced to reckon with the uncertainty of their past and future alike. With the gentle lyricism of a dream and the moral clarity of a fable, "Radiance of Tomorrow" is a powerful novel about preserving what means the most to us, even in uncertain times.

Así es como se libran ahora las guerras: con niños traumatizados, drogados y empuñando AK-47. Los niños se han convertido en los mejores soldados. En los más de cincuenta confl ictos violentos que existen actualmente en el mundo, se cree que hay más de 300.000 niños soldados. Ishmael Beah fue uno de ellos. ¿Cómo se ve la guerra a través de los ojos de un niño soldado? ¿Cómo se convierte uno en asesino? ¿Cómo deja de serlo? Los niños soldados han sido descritos por periodistas, y los novelistas se han esforzado por imaginar su vida. Pero hasta ahora, no había ningún relato en primera persona de alguien que hubiera estado en el infi erno y haya sobrevivido. Ishmael Beah cuenta una historia fascinante. A los doce años, huye del ataque de los rebeldes y vaga por un país que la violencia ha vuelto irreconocible. A los trece años, entra en el ejército del gobierno, y Beah, un buen chico, descubre que es capaz de cometer actos terribles.

From the #1 New York Times&ndashbestselling author of A Long Way Gone.A powerful novel about young people living at the margins of society, struggling to replace the homes they have lost with the one they have created together.Hidden away from a harsh outside world, five young people have improvised a home in an abandoned airplane, a relic of their country&rsquos tumultuous past. Elimane, the bookworm, is as street-smart as he is wise. Clever Khoudiemata maneuvers to keep the younger kids&mdashathletic, pragmatic Ndevui, thoughtful Kpindi, and especially their newest member, Namsa&mdashsafe and fed. When Elimane makes himself of service to the shadowy William Handkerchief, it seems as if the little family may be able to keep the world at bay and their household intact. But when Khoudi comes under the spell of the &ldquobeautiful people&rdquo&mdashthe fortunate sons and daughters of the elite&mdashthe desire to resume an interrupted coming of age and follow her own destiny proves impossible to resist. A profound and tender portrayal of the connections we forge to survive the fate we&rsquore dealt, Little Family marks the further blossoming of a unique global voice.

En 1993, durante el ataque de un grupo rebelde armado a la población de Mattru Jong (Sierra Leona), Ishmael Beah, de 12 años de edad, se ve obligado a escapar hacia la selva, esquivando los cuerpos de los aldeanos abatidos por la disparos. Tan solo unos dias atras, Ishmael, su hermano Junior y su amigo Talloi habian partido desde Mogbwemo, enfundados en vaqueros holgados y decididos a caminar 26 kilometros para demostrar sus habilidades como raperos en un concurso de talentos. Nunca podrian haber imaginado que aquel dia luminoso y fresco de enero seria la antesala de la experiencia mas siniestra que la vida les ofreceria. Acompañado de otros niños, Ishmael recorre los pueblos cercanos rastreando a su familia y buscando cobijo y comida. A pesar de su entereza y sagacidad para sobrevivir, el pequeño Ishmael es reclutado por las fuerzas armadas del Gobierno. A partir de ese momento, con un AK-47 colgado al hombro y aturdido por el consumo de drogas que le suministraban sus superiores, el niño Beah transitara las entrañas de una guerra civil monstruosa que dejo al menos 50 000 civiles muertos.