Childhood is a sweet thing that I long for, but I could barely remember. It is unfortunate that we are called to grow up in the most struggling of times.
For Valentino, maturity had to be found quite early in his life. It surprised me when I came across his age for certain parts of the book because it seemed as though time had quickly passed within a few pages. He endured so many hardship and had seen so much brutality, that it is unbelievable what he had gone through and when he had gone through it. The marches, the killings he witnessed, the dirty and unsanitary conditions he underwent--- they all see to pass so quickly. There is a vivid scene that comes to mind when I think of the fragility of his innocence, the scene where he meets the rebels and is shown the weaponry they use. Achak is constantly battling between his innocence and wanting, yearning, to kill the government's milita, those who had humiliated and exploited Southern Sudan.
Another scene in this book, dealing with the coming-of-age story, is when Achak is invited to the Royal Nieces of Pinyudo's house and he was exploring the young girls' genitals as they were to him. Young children, who exploring their sexualities, their sacred body.
You never realize when life calls upon you to grow up, but it inevitably happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment