Beast of No Nation

I've always had trouble engaging in dialectic 1st person narratives. It takes a while for a reader to become accustomed to its new language; it also makes the reader question whether or not the author will really be able to pull off creating a new language. And sometimes the reader can't know anyway. However, I find that this book works very effectively. It is pointing out two things: the horrific images of inhumanity and the psyche of a small child forced to be "grown up." By using the language of a child, the author conveys the extreme innocence of these children forced into war as well as their susceptibility to be manipulated by their superiors.

I also really like the metaphors and analogies Iweala uses, like the brain as "rotten fruit," and "mosquitoes on my skin," and others that strongly coincide with the landscape of Africa. I sort of feel like their are mosquitoes all over my skin while reading this book. To think that people are still living this way to day heartbreaking. I'm glad that he chose to do this in the 1st person, because the only way to see this situation is through the eyes of one whose been apart of it.