savi125's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
thomasroche's review against another edition
5.0
An at-times horrifying read, but in the end a truly inspiring biography and a great portrayal of the awful ways war affects children and young adults.
"War Child" is not for someone inclined to freak out at explicit descriptions of violence and misery, or famine-level poverty, hatred (at times racial hatred) and frustration. Jal has lived through a lot and here he does not shy away from describing any of it, from the blood and guts to the racial tension and hatred.
Jal was a child soldier with the SPLA (antigovernment rebels, at the time predominantly Christian/Animist) in Sudan and witnessed the rape and murder of members of his family. After the war despite the kindness of several strangers, he had a ROUGH time getting "rehabilitated," finding his behavior was affected in all sorts of ways by his past; he had a tendency toward violence, an automatic impulse to steal when he could, an inability to concentrate. I imagine that from the perspective of anyone who's ever worked with the children of trauma or immigrant populations, this book would be invaluable. It's also just an amazingly human story. The author's style is stilted and clearly colloquial at times, which means you'll be learning many terms from the languages of Sudan (often terms that are cobbled together from several languages, or have an unclear meaning). That, and the book's snapshot of village life in Sudan even outside of the context of war, add up to a book that is absolutely not to be missed.
Also, the last fifth or so of the book has a lot to do with Jal's music career; indie artists are advised to check it out. Because he could not get play from Nairobi radio stations, against all odds Jal and his friends got a grant and released his album and one of his friends', self-produced, self-promoted, basically no help from any music industry sources until Peter Gabriel gave him a vote of confidence at Africa Calling. At one point Jal describes giving well-attended concerts in London and then sleeping on park benches. Good to know it's not just the U.S. where the corporate music promoters are brain-dead sleazebags who wouldn't know good music if it bit them on the ass.
Jal is a Christian (raised a Christian, became an atheist during the war, then was "saved") and I am most emphatically not (though I was raised Roman Catholic). Jal's faith is critical to his rescue from despair, but he doesn't especially preach. Descriptions of his music necessarily carry some expression of Christian joy, particularly his early work which was more explicitly Christian -- before he started writing about his war experiences. If you can't handle that, you probably won't like the last part of the book. I think one of the strongest messages Jal presents is how he learned to not be prejudiced against Muslims, after a lifetime of hating them with all his heart (the war in Sudan was for all intents and purposes a war against Islamic and Christian/Animist populations, though its roots go deep into OIL). So avoiding his faith would have been thoroughly disingenuous, and I'm glad he's been honest about it here. It also means that if you ARE Christian, there will be a lot for you to like about the last part of the book, which ends on a SERIOUS up note and an inspiring sense of hope despite the fact that there is some HARROWING reading preceding it.
"War Child" is not for someone inclined to freak out at explicit descriptions of violence and misery, or famine-level poverty, hatred (at times racial hatred) and frustration. Jal has lived through a lot and here he does not shy away from describing any of it, from the blood and guts to the racial tension and hatred.
Jal was a child soldier with the SPLA (antigovernment rebels, at the time predominantly Christian/Animist) in Sudan and witnessed the rape and murder of members of his family. After the war despite the kindness of several strangers, he had a ROUGH time getting "rehabilitated," finding his behavior was affected in all sorts of ways by his past; he had a tendency toward violence, an automatic impulse to steal when he could, an inability to concentrate. I imagine that from the perspective of anyone who's ever worked with the children of trauma or immigrant populations, this book would be invaluable. It's also just an amazingly human story. The author's style is stilted and clearly colloquial at times, which means you'll be learning many terms from the languages of Sudan (often terms that are cobbled together from several languages, or have an unclear meaning). That, and the book's snapshot of village life in Sudan even outside of the context of war, add up to a book that is absolutely not to be missed.
Also, the last fifth or so of the book has a lot to do with Jal's music career; indie artists are advised to check it out. Because he could not get play from Nairobi radio stations, against all odds Jal and his friends got a grant and released his album and one of his friends', self-produced, self-promoted, basically no help from any music industry sources until Peter Gabriel gave him a vote of confidence at Africa Calling. At one point Jal describes giving well-attended concerts in London and then sleeping on park benches. Good to know it's not just the U.S. where the corporate music promoters are brain-dead sleazebags who wouldn't know good music if it bit them on the ass.
Jal is a Christian (raised a Christian, became an atheist during the war, then was "saved") and I am most emphatically not (though I was raised Roman Catholic). Jal's faith is critical to his rescue from despair, but he doesn't especially preach. Descriptions of his music necessarily carry some expression of Christian joy, particularly his early work which was more explicitly Christian -- before he started writing about his war experiences. If you can't handle that, you probably won't like the last part of the book. I think one of the strongest messages Jal presents is how he learned to not be prejudiced against Muslims, after a lifetime of hating them with all his heart (the war in Sudan was for all intents and purposes a war against Islamic and Christian/Animist populations, though its roots go deep into OIL). So avoiding his faith would have been thoroughly disingenuous, and I'm glad he's been honest about it here. It also means that if you ARE Christian, there will be a lot for you to like about the last part of the book, which ends on a SERIOUS up note and an inspiring sense of hope despite the fact that there is some HARROWING reading preceding it.
trupti's review
5.0
This book is the second book I've read on a Child Soldier. War Child is about 7 year old Jal or Emmanuel from Sudan who gets caught up in the war between Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan. His entire family is displaced, he gets sent to the Ethiopian refugee camp, gets recruited as a child soldier in the South Sudan Rebellion and eventually escapes war by getting to Kenya.
All I can say is I probably couldn't endure even half of what this kid has endured and come out of it sane. It's harrowing, heartbreaking and honest. Always honest. I'm surprised that he could even talk about some of the events in his life.
After he escapes to Kenya, his life is not a bed of roses suddenly. He describes how difficult it is to assimilate these aimless Lost Boys of Sudan to normal life. I'm amazed by his dedication towards the cause. The fact that he could perform in a huge concert, earn a decent amount of money and still have no place to sleep at night because he has donated all the money to the organization is what blows me away.
This book made me angry. Why can't people just stop killing each other? Is money, power, oil, religion, pride so important that it turns them into killing machines without a thought of what they are doing to their countries and their own families? Jal doesn't have any answers to those either. But he still has hope that if people work together they can achieve peace.
All I can say is I probably couldn't endure even half of what this kid has endured and come out of it sane. It's harrowing, heartbreaking and honest. Always honest. I'm surprised that he could even talk about some of the events in his life.
After he escapes to Kenya, his life is not a bed of roses suddenly. He describes how difficult it is to assimilate these aimless Lost Boys of Sudan to normal life. I'm amazed by his dedication towards the cause. The fact that he could perform in a huge concert, earn a decent amount of money and still have no place to sleep at night because he has donated all the money to the organization is what blows me away.
This book made me angry. Why can't people just stop killing each other? Is money, power, oil, religion, pride so important that it turns them into killing machines without a thought of what they are doing to their countries and their own families? Jal doesn't have any answers to those either. But he still has hope that if people work together they can achieve peace.
kelseymangeni's review against another edition
3.0
I push myself to read about people who have gone through excruciating life circumstances because I have lived such a privileged life and it feels right to share in their pain in the little way I can, by hearing their story. This book was a real war book, lots of descriptions of battle and he goes into detail on his training as a child soldier, but it honestly wasn’t as graphic as it could have been. What struck me the most while reading is how everyone deals with the same questions in life, whether you’re living through trauma or privilege, everyone questions God and wonders why He allows evil in the world.
martha_schwalbe's review
3.0
Jok Jal's story is very graphic. The book opens with an explanation of his anger and rage that help him become a child soldier in Sudan. He does not mention the use of drugs to turn him into a killer yet the experiences he has helped me understand how he could kill.
Jal does go through a religious experience although in the end he says he doesn't preach religion because it is something each person must find. He is a rap singer though whose songs tell the story of his life as a soldier, in a country at war, and in a refugee camp.
I recommend this book to any of the high school students. It takes us into a world we know nothing about.
Jal does go through a religious experience although in the end he says he doesn't preach religion because it is something each person must find. He is a rap singer though whose songs tell the story of his life as a soldier, in a country at war, and in a refugee camp.
I recommend this book to any of the high school students. It takes us into a world we know nothing about.
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