'Radiance Of Tomorrow' Ishmael Beah's Latest Heart Wrenching Novel Of Inspiration

By Jaclyn Bauer in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 30, 2014 4:35PM

A book of hope, despair and pure inspiration, Ishmael Beah’s "Radiance of Tomorrow" is a tragic and uplifting masterpiece. Primarily set in Imperi, a rural village in Sierra Leone, "Radiance of Tomorrow" follows the stories of several of the village’s people as they begin to return to Imperi seven years after the nation's civil war. The inhabitants of Imperi learn to rebuild their lives after tragedy has struck and in the face of the Westernization of their homeland. All the while they are faced with threats to their physical well-being (in the form of polluted waters and electrified wires in the dessert), as well as the emotional trauma of rape, abuse and the systematic destruction of their traditions.

Bockarie is the main character in the novel, a presumably middle-aged father of five who is one of the town’s few school teachers. Bockarie struggles to provide Imperi’s children with an education despite the corruption and lack of value inherent in the school system and within Imperi’s poverty ridden people. Mama Kadie, an elder and community storyteller, is the first resident to return to Imperi after the massacre known as “Operation No Living Thing.” We also meet Sila and his two children, all of whom have had an arm amputated during the war. Finally, we meet Colonel, the unnamed protector of Imperi and a teenage orphan who, despite his rough demeanor, is one of the most endearing and respected characters in the book.

In the Author’s Note at the beginning of the novel, Beah explicitly states that the oral traditions of Africa and his native language are integral to his creative work. Not only is storytelling a major motif in the novel, but the way that Beah uses language is both captivating and moving. Very little is described simply in the book; rather, nearly every detail is magnified by the power of metaphors and similes so unique that the reader can’t help but wonder at what beauty Beah’s own indigenous dialect must hold.

Beah infuses his language, characters and story with a vibrancy and potent emotionality that is rarely accessed through written words. The very heavy nature of the book is contrasted by perseverance, lightheartedness and a persistent positive perspective, which provides balance to what could have been an absolutely depressing novel.