false 2 7 false false Wed Oct 24 06:50:42 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 24 09:04:23 -0700 2007
And along with the long list of tragedy-whores are those thirsty to do all they can to make things better. In this world even looking concerned can go a long way. So even though I got my copy of "A Long Way Gone" at the overpriced Court Street Books in Brooklyn, it wasn't a surprise to see it in Starbucks only inches away from a "struggling" artist with a tall (not small) and cup of Kenyan Roast coffee (meant to promote fair trade).

Ishmael Beah hit the jackpot, landing his book in the heart of do-gooders--people with a Starbucks budget, where two cups of Starbucks coffee from the "African/Asia regions" could finance a small village in Ishmael's home, Sierra Leone.

Ultimately, there are a long list of things wrong with "A Long Way Gone". The narrative is jumpy, the language is simple, and sometimes Beah just seems stuck, more literally than figuratively. In the beginning, I found myself wondering when he would finally kill someone, or when they would finally catch him. Perhaps something terrible would force him to feel his way to some good writing. But maybe I'm a tragedy whore like everyone else, waiting for something bad to happen so I can gasp in anticipated disbelief and concern.

In the end I think I just never got over the fact that he was saved from death by rapping LL Cool J's "I Need Love".]]>