A book review: They Poured Fire on us from the Sky

I finished this book, They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky several months ago.  It is a book about a heartbreaking time in human history.  It is written by two brothers and their cousin.  They are all "Lost Boys of Sudan." In the 1990's Sudan was in the throws of a bloody civil war.  Families were torn apart.  The innocent were slaughtered.  Children were orphaned.  Girls were raped.  Little boys had their lives spared though, but not for a noble reason.  Little boys would be trained to be soldiers to fight for the war.  Little boys who should have been herding the families' goats and playing games of make-believe were left with the option of trekking across the desert to freedom or learning how to kill a man.  Many chose the dangerous trek across the desert, where on the other side they hoped for freedom and reunification with any family members that might have survived.  This book is the story of three of those boys who made that journey.

The book is written in English, which was the fourth language of the writers.  There are a few places where it is apparent that they are still students of the language, but that simply adds to the poignancy of the book.

The boys write about their homes under attack:
People scattered everywhere.  Roofs went up in flames.  I left our goats and ran to join my parents, but I couldn't get past the gunman who stood in the middle of our yard.  The village was destroyed. . .I watched them kill our cattle, set the millet and sorghum fields on fire, destroy all the things that human life needs to survive.

This is not light, happy, feel good reading.  It is worth while.  Nothing makes me more thankful for the comforts and freedoms that we enjoy in the States than leaving the country for a short time and learnimg about the injustices that take place in other places.  This book will make you want to pray for our politicians instead of criticize them.

The boys write of how they reunited with each other, how they eluded death, how the reached safety, and how they ended up in the US.  They do provide some comic relief in parts of the book.  They talk about learning how to use a toilet, how to buckle a seat beat, how to eat a salad and so many other things that are everyday occurrences to us.  Pray for the people of Sudan, as the effects of this war are still evident.