Book Review of They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky
There are two things that struck me right to the bones while reading They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak and with Judy A. Bernstein. The first is the fact that I had to continually remind myself that this was a story about very young children. Starting at the beginning of the story between the ages of five and seven, they grow older as the story develops but while you're reading the collective memoir somehow an image of a grown adult creeps into your mind. You might blame it upon a simple memory lapse on my part yet it is more likely that the experiences that they describe are simply difficult(not impossible) to imagine such young children doing independently of any adult guidance or support. If its not walking thousands of miles across the desert of Sudan to Ethiopia, then to Kenya that is difficult to imagine, maybe its overcoming overwhelming adversity such as serious injury, diseases such as yellow fever, constant starvation and dehydration. It is a painful reality of very young children, in addition to all of the above circumstances, trying to evade predators such as lions, crocodile, the entire northern Sudanese government forces, and sometimes even their own Sudan People's Liberation Army soldiers that were supposed to be protecting them. Any person with a sliver of empathy would cringe at even the thought of strong adults forced to endure such suffering yet I was reminded over and over again that these were just very young boys with little education and even less experience with the real world.
Somehow though, the little life they had lived previously had prepared the three writers enough to travel for years through hell and still be able to persevere with an often positive perspective nonetheless. This was the second aspect of their story that struck me. Like so many other difficult situations but magnified even more through absolute atrocity, a will to live, perspective of hope and a lot of good luck seems to make the difference between those that survived to tell the tale and those that did not. Time and time again they chose to keep on moving forward with their lives when giving up was clearly the easier choice. We see through the wisdom of a child that even in the harshest of conditions, things like humor are necessary to survive. Alepho Deng wrote, "We'd laugh and joke like that. We had to have humor. It is human nature. No matter how bad the situation is, if you can't find any humor then life is not worth it(Deng 194). Its moments like these, when we are reminded of the importance of humor, staying positive, family and the power of education that make this book special.
After a brief introduction by Bernstein, the future American mentor for the three Sudanese authors, each chapter alternates between the first person perspective of each Sudanese Lost Boy. The boys(now young men), two brothers and a cousin, share brief stories from their very early childhood before leading into the various tragedies that led them to be forced from their home and on their perilous journey to the refugee camp in Ethiopia. One of the downsides to this is it sometimes difficult to keep track of the author's three separate yet similar stories between all of the characters, places and plots that happen between them. However, the alternating voices gives the opportunity for the audience to recognize from multiple perspectives how important family is to them and how each dreams of a day when they can receive a proper education in order to better themselves. These themes were intertwined throughout the story as the young children beautifully recognized, seemingly all on their own, that if they wanted to get out of their current situation then they would need to go to school to learn English and other important skills. Imagine if American children had even half of their appreciation for school. Their story continues through the better part of a decade up until their eventual salvation into the United States. Their stories are filled with sadness, pain, hope, longing and love for their friends and family. From tales of little girls being raped to SPLA soldiers abusing the young children because they could to the constant threat of disease and injury, this is in no way a story that sugar coats their experiences. It is simple yet such vividly real language that the reader can't help but feel the weight of the hardship of their journey.
I would recommend this to any person that is looking for a story on true human survival and perseverance. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to learn more about the reality of the world as painfully frustrating as it can be sometimes. I would recommend this to anyone that thinks that the Lost Boys are just a made up group of followers of Peter Pan, though the name does derive from the story. There is no better way about learning about history than first person perspectives of those that lived it and They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky provides that in heroic fashion.
Somehow though, the little life they had lived previously had prepared the three writers enough to travel for years through hell and still be able to persevere with an often positive perspective nonetheless. This was the second aspect of their story that struck me. Like so many other difficult situations but magnified even more through absolute atrocity, a will to live, perspective of hope and a lot of good luck seems to make the difference between those that survived to tell the tale and those that did not. Time and time again they chose to keep on moving forward with their lives when giving up was clearly the easier choice. We see through the wisdom of a child that even in the harshest of conditions, things like humor are necessary to survive. Alepho Deng wrote, "We'd laugh and joke like that. We had to have humor. It is human nature. No matter how bad the situation is, if you can't find any humor then life is not worth it(Deng 194). Its moments like these, when we are reminded of the importance of humor, staying positive, family and the power of education that make this book special.
After a brief introduction by Bernstein, the future American mentor for the three Sudanese authors, each chapter alternates between the first person perspective of each Sudanese Lost Boy. The boys(now young men), two brothers and a cousin, share brief stories from their very early childhood before leading into the various tragedies that led them to be forced from their home and on their perilous journey to the refugee camp in Ethiopia. One of the downsides to this is it sometimes difficult to keep track of the author's three separate yet similar stories between all of the characters, places and plots that happen between them. However, the alternating voices gives the opportunity for the audience to recognize from multiple perspectives how important family is to them and how each dreams of a day when they can receive a proper education in order to better themselves. These themes were intertwined throughout the story as the young children beautifully recognized, seemingly all on their own, that if they wanted to get out of their current situation then they would need to go to school to learn English and other important skills. Imagine if American children had even half of their appreciation for school. Their story continues through the better part of a decade up until their eventual salvation into the United States. Their stories are filled with sadness, pain, hope, longing and love for their friends and family. From tales of little girls being raped to SPLA soldiers abusing the young children because they could to the constant threat of disease and injury, this is in no way a story that sugar coats their experiences. It is simple yet such vividly real language that the reader can't help but feel the weight of the hardship of their journey.
I would recommend this to any person that is looking for a story on true human survival and perseverance. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to learn more about the reality of the world as painfully frustrating as it can be sometimes. I would recommend this to anyone that thinks that the Lost Boys are just a made up group of followers of Peter Pan, though the name does derive from the story. There is no better way about learning about history than first person perspectives of those that lived it and They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky provides that in heroic fashion.