Allah is Not Obliged

Posted on 04 March 2018 by Ahmadou Kourouma

ALLAH IS NOT OBLIGED TO BE FAIR ABOUT ALL THE THINGS HE DOES HERE ON EARTH.These are the words of the boy soldier Birahima in the final masterpiece by one of Africa s most celebrated writers, Ahmadou Kourouma When ten year old Birahima s mother dies, he leaves his native village in the Ivory Coast, accompanied by the sorcerer and cook Yacouba, to search for his aunt Mahan Crossing the border into Liberia, they are seized by rebels and forced into military service Birahima is given a Kalashnikov, minimal rations of food, a small supply of dope and a tiny wage Fighting in a chaotic civil war alongside many other boys, Birahima sees death, torture, dismemberment and madness but somehow manages to retain his own sanity Raw and unforgettable, despairing yet filled with laughter, Allah Is Not Obliged reveals the ways in which children s innocence and youth are compromised by war. Best Read Kindle ePUB Allah is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma – kino-fada.fr This book purports to be the story of Birahima, an orphan 10 years of age, and his odyssey to reunite with his closest living relative, an aunt who resides in shudder Liberia Except that it s not just a story about Birahima, it s really a story about the western part of Africa and the utter destruction and desolation of these poor exploited countries, particularly Liberia and Sierra Leone.Kourouma speaks through the medium of Birahima, and in so doing gives the reader an account of the roots This book purports to be the story of Birahima, an orphan 10 years of age, and his odyssey to reunite with his closest living rela...This book tells the story of a young boy, Birahima He s grown up in Cote D Ivoire, and when his mother dies, it s decided that he ll go and live with his aunt in Liberia However, somewhere along the way, Birahima finds himself caught up in tribal warfare, and the only way to survive is to become a child soldier I have really mixed feelings about this book On the one hand, it shows a horrifying reality for many children growing up in western Africa in the 1990s The narrative is incredibly fr This book tells the story of a young boy, Birahima He s grown up in Cote D Ivoire, and when his mother dies, it s decided that he ll go and live with his aunt in Liberia However, somewhere along the way, Birahima finds himself caught up in tribal warfare, and the only way to survive is to become a child soldier I have ...Allah is not obliged to be fair about all the things he does here on earth These are the words of the child soldier or as he calls himself a small soldier Birahima, and thus begins and ends Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma s award winning novel Despite a dismal sounding assessment of existence, this novel is filled with a huge share of humor, sarcasm, and tongue in cheek insults The genius of this novel is the author was able to combine the gruesome with the humorous and make it all believa Allah is not obliged to be fair about all the things he does here on earth These are the words of the child soldier or as he calls himself a small soldier Birahima, and thus begins and ends Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma s award winning novel Despite a dismal sounding assessment of existence, this novel is filled with a huge share of humor, sarcasm, and tongue in cheek insults The genius of this novel is the author was able to combine the gruesome with the h...This is like Pere Ubu traipsing through the jungles of West Africa seeking riches the ribald and absurdist journey of a ten year old hired gun and his bullshit talking, witch doctor guardian, both surviving their way through Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Liberia during their most violent years Unlikely captures and escapes propel the narrator and his cohort from one camp of fighters to another and from one key moment of the wars to the next Their movements give Kourouma the opportunity to tel This is like Pere Ubu traipsing through the jungles of West Africa seeking riches the ribald and absurdist journey of a ten year old hired gun and his bullshit talking, witch doctor guardian...This is a horrific story The violence is told in a matter of fact way with no apologies and little sympathy.But you cannot ignore the fact that this book is simply not well written, on account of it being written by a 10 year old that may actually be 11The story is told by this supposed child on account that I m only a kid he makes a few mistakes and uses a dictionary, a lot One minute he is explaining what single file is and pooh pooh pee peeing and then he is talking about indigenes and This is a horrific story The violence is told in a matter of fact way with no apologies and little sympathy.But you cannot ignore the fact that this book is simply not well written, on account of it being written by a 10 year old that may actually be 11The story is told by this su...What a book A real eye opener, the book makes you think a lot about the status quo I was really frustrated with the way things were in the book, especially with the outright ignorance and violence However, that did not deter me from finishing it though I did think about it , it was a mixture of humour and tragedy that came across as ironic and heartbreaking The format can be a bit annoying due to the repetition of descriptions and words, but you get used to it eventually The book is remini What a book A real eye opener, the book makes you think a lot about the status quo I was really frus...There s nothingendearing than a child soldier armed with an AK 47 and several dictionaries Ahmadou Kourouma has created just such a character in the 10 year old Birahima, a cheating, thieving, drug addicted, machine gun wielding narrator He has decided to tell us his story, but on his own terms, as he says Allah is not obliged to be fair about all the things he does here on Earth and neither is Birahima He tells us what he feels like, when he feels like writing, but be wary of him whe There s nothingendearing than a child soldier armed with an AK 47 and several dictionaries Ahmadou Kourouma has created just such a character in the 10 year old Birahima, a cheating, thieving, drug addicted, machine gun wielding narrator He has decided to tell us his story, but on his own terms, as he says Allah is not obliged to be fair about all the things he do...We left Kik to the mercy of humans in the village the we left Sarah to the mercy of the animals and the insects Which of them was better off Definitely not Kik That s wars for you Animals havemercy for the wounded than humans Allah is ObligedThis short book written by the late Ahmadou Kourouma follows the life of a street kid, Birahima the book is written in his perspective , and a grigriman crook, Yacouba as they leave their home in the Ivory Coast...As the book s young narrator tells it, the full title of this book is Allah is not obliged to be fair about all the things he does here on earth Birahima should know at the age of ten or twelve his grandmother seems to think he s two years younger than his mother told him he was , he is an orphan and has fought as a child soldier for several different warlords He tells his story using the help of four different dictionaries that have come into his possession, and the book is peppered with As the book s young narrator tells it, the full title of this book is Allah is not obliged to be fair about all the things he does here on earth Birahima should know at the age of ten or twelve his grandmother seems to think he s two years younger than his mother told him he was , he is an orphan and has fought as a child soldier for several different warlords He tells his story using the help of four different dictionaries that have come into his possession, and the book is peppered with the definitions of many of the words he uses You would think this would be distracting, but it s really not, especially when he chooses to define a term in his own words For example, he describes humanitarian peacek...A little too broken in its narrative I understand the need to truly reflect the rebel child soldier voice, but it never seemed to build up to much.Nonetheless, very frankly written and informative on West African history.

English
04 March 2018

Ahmadou Kourouma