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Beasts of No Nation

Published
Nov 2005
Main Genre
General Fiction General Fiction
Rating
Pages
176

About This Book

Now a critically-acclaimed Netflix original film directed by Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) and starring Idris Elba (Mandela, The Wire) the movie-tie in edition of the harrowing, utterly original debut novel by Uzodinma Iweala about the life of a child soldier in a war-torn African country.

As civil war ravages an unnamed West-African nation, Agu, the school-aged protagonist of this stunning debut novel, is recruited into a unit of guerilla fighters. Haunted by his father's own death at the hands of militants, which he fled just before witnessing, Agu is vulnerable to the dangerous yet paternal nature of his new commander.

While the war rages on, Agu becomes increasingly divorced from the life he had known before the conflict started a life of school friends, church services, and time with his family, still intact. As he vividly recalls these sunnier times, his daily reality continues to spin further downward into inexplicable brutality, primal fear, and loss of selfhood. In a powerful, strikingly original voice, Uzodinma Iweala leads the reader through the random travels, betrayals, and violence that mark Agu's new community. Electrifying and engrossing, Beasts of No Nation announces the arrival of an extraordinary new writer.

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Paperback

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Jan 2006 HarperPerennial ISBN 0060798688
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Jan 2006 HarperCollins ISBN 006123348X
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Oct 2015 HarperPerennial ISBN 0062420119
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Sep 2021 HarperCollins ISBN 0063139030
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Hardcover

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First Edition Jan 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 006079867X
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Jan 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 0719567521
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eBook

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Jan 2009 Harper ISBN 0061844543
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Oct 2009 HarperCollins e-books ISBN B000UVBT04
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Oct 2015 John Murray ISBN 1473628040
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Aug 2025 John Murray ISBN 1399828606
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Audio

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Oct 2015 John Murray ISBN B013H9GA86
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Oct 2015 HarperAudio ISBN B0145QBB3Y
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