How Beautiful We Were - Imbolo Mbu

This book is about a small African village and an American oil company, the children in the village are dying because the water is contaminated by oil spills. It’s told from multiple points of view and does flick from different times too, which can be difficult to keep track of. The story was very interesting and sad, I was interested in what was happening but unfortunately I found it very difficult to actually get into, the chapters were very long and didn’t always grab me

Thank you to @netgalley for a copy of this book for my honest review

How Beautiful We Were tells an important story; a story about exploitation and survival. Imbolo Mbue has cleverly woven together a poignant and thought-provoking, multi-generational story.
Set in the fictional African village of Kosowa, children are dying from drinking poisoned water. Pexton Oil is responsible for polluting their water with their frequent oil spills.
This is a story about standing up to corporate greed and corruption and how people rise to make their voices heard. The story is told from different perspectives - the narratives spanning different generations. Thula's character embodied knowledge, revolution and sacrifice.

This is a story of a fictional African village which has been subjected to environmental degradation due to an oil company using it for it's natural resources. A heartbreaking scenario which happens regularly, effecting the wellbeing and lifestyles of the indigenous population by causing pollution and sickness.

This was cleverly told from multiple perspectives over decades, and was completely engrossing despite being a slower read. I love a character driven novel, and How Beautiful We Were is certainly that, whilst creating a brilliant narrative centered around corruption that applies massively to the current environmental situation in many resource rich countries.

Thank you to canongate for my earc of this book. This is a well written novel with 3 dimensional characters. Heartbreaking but well done.

I loved the premise of this story set in a village overshadowed by American capitalism. A very poignant and devastating read.

How Beautiful We Were is the story of an African village (Kosawa - it’s fictitious) and its environmental destruction and pollution by an American oil company. Their water and land is contaminated. Children die from drinking poisoned water, they can no longer grow crops as their farmland is infertile. Thinking that they can get some help from the government, some men go to appeal their leader in the capital city, but they disappear after being arrested. The country’s dictator is only out for the money and profit, and these uneducated villagers are expendable.

It’s not until American citizens see the slaughter of the villagers that action is taken. However, even after promises of reparation, the oil company doesn’t pay up, and more deaths follow.

Thule is a fascinating character. She leaves to study in the US for the sake of her village - even though she doesn’t want to leave. But she wants to learn as much as possible so that she can help her friends and family. She studies, she gets involved in similar campaigns in America, and then comes home to use that knowledge. She’s so selfless: she has the opportunity to make a life in New York and never return to a place where her life will be in danger, but she goes home.

I really liked the way that this novel was set out, and it worked so well on audiobook. The Children, The Young Men and Thule chapters were read by different people, and it really helped to put me in their situation. Listening to the reactions of the children and young men in ‘their’ voices, and Thule’s experiences in ‘her’ voice, was what made this all the more special and affecting for me.
Recommended.

I wanted so much to love this book, I had looked forward to the release of it and was so excited to have a preview copy.
I just couldn’t get into it…
I tried to love the characters, the story I ploughed on hoping I would love it but I didn’t and I gave up. Was so sad, hoping I’ll return to it but for now an unfinished novel

This was a brilliant read and the kind of reading journey I love.

Imbolo Mbue takes you back to a fictional African village, which could be in any number of countries, she names many of her characters after cities in those many countries and tells what should be a simple story, about how this village has been affected by the many interventions of both outsiders and by those placed in power in their own country.

Mostly the story is narrated through members of the same family, of Thula and her brother Juba, their mother Saleh, grandmother Yaya, uncle Bongo and then the third person plural (we) of The Children, their age mates.

The issue the village tries to address is the polluting of the river and air, the poisoning of the land, the deaths of children since a corporation arrived and began drilling for oil.

Their attempts to reason with whoever it is they can speak to to address their concerns, because this is all happening on their land, result in dire consequences, yet they persevere and each generation attempts to reconcile the problem, each time learning more about the complexity of a situation that is repeated the world over by those who exploit partnering with those in power, and the false hopes provided by those who want to do good and the money making machine of the law and lawyers and the ineffectiveness of courts.

It's brilliantly conveyed, right from the first character Kongo, deemed a madman, the one who first stands up and commits an act of rebellion, the one who sees what others can not see, how it it all will end.

This has quite a slow start and I wasn’t sure where the story was going. I would say it did become quite repetitive yet the writing in parts was beautiful and incredible storytelling. It was a very sad and emotional story. I would read more by this author.

This book was moving, inspiring and challenging, I would highly recommend it to anyone. The language is beautiful and the sense of place was so evocative that I felt I had entered a different world.

Really important and compelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Stunning novel set in an African village being polluted by white people invading for oil. The pollution affects the villagers physically, mentally and spiritually and really allows us to see how different cultures are beautiful and how the white man can be very focused on money and power over the survival of beautiful cultures.

I did not finish this one. I found it dull. I couldn't get into the story, unfortunately. I may try again at a later date.

A fictional town, with a vicious power-play, had my attention. The characters underwent so much and so did the landscape. What didn't work for me was the prose. It was lengthy at best and unengaging at worst. I kept losing focus and despite the fact that I stuck to the end, I was left exhausted

This is a truly breathtaking book. It spans such vast timelines that you might, as I did, wonder how on earth it wasn’t the author’s debut: surely she’d spent her life doing nothing else but plotting this novel, and the hopes and dreams of her multi-generational cast of characters. It turns out that it’s been nestled in her head for seventeen years: delayed by the pandemic and the huge success of her debut novel, “Behold the Dreamers.” Set in Kosawa, a fictional African village, the book follows the family of a girl named Thula as her community battles devastating pollution caused by an American oil company based nearby on the village’s ancestral land. How Beautiful We Were tackles huge, heart-wrenching themes of belonging, community, colonialism, capitalism – and taking action vs. lying wait. The callous disregard shown by the US-based firm for the health of the locals will leave you furious, ashamed, and willing the villagers on as they seek justice and reparations for the damage done to their families and fields – yet with profits seemingly permanently valued over people, can anything ever really change? Magnificent and unmissable.

Featured in the April issue of Cambridge Edition Magazine's Book Club

How Beautiful We Were follows the story of fictional village Kosawa as their land is destroyed by an American oil company and government corruption over decades. Children are dying, crops can't grow anymore, and no one is acknowledging their suffering... until increasingly drastic actions are taken.

Firstly, we see things unfold through the perspective of a young girl named Thula's family, so we have an intimate view of their suffering and Thula's determination despite it all. Eventually, she's given the opportunity to travel to New York for her education, and she becomes increasingly passionate about activism and protecting her home.

We also see things through the perspective of a group of unnamed village children (although who they are becomes clearer throughout). This kind of mass-perspective isn't something I'm used to, so it took some time to get into but it was ultimately a brilliant way to see the depth of the destruction and their sense of connection (to each other and their home).

Despite the state of the world, climate fiction is a rare beauty. So, I'm glad this book exists and would recommend it to fans of:

🌿climate fiction
🌿multiple perspectives
🌿activism stories
🌿strong sense of community
🌿stories from the perspective of a group

How Beautiful We Were tells the story of an African village at the mercy of an uncaring and abusive American corporation.

The story is told over a significant period of time and I enjoyed hearing the perspective from different characters.

The characters were crafted with such strength and resilience. Out of the named characters, Thula, Yaya, Bongo, Sahel, and Juba, I struggle to say who is my preferred as I enjoyed them all for their strength and their struggles.

I would be extremely interested in reading more by Imbolo Mbue.

A beautifully written story but heartbreaking at the same of time. While the village is fictionalised, it brings home just how we are having not only an environmental impact, but a human impact on the world. It is a hard read at times but I think it’s needed, to understand the impact the western world has had on countries. I really enjoyed the book focussing on a generation of a family, it was great to follow the family throughout the key events. The multiple narratives kept the story progressing and gave a variety to the plot.

This was a thought provoking read for me. The story is set in a fictional village called Kosawa in Africa. The villagers have been sold out by their own country to an American oil mining conglomerate who pillage the land polluting the water supplies and the surrounding fields leading to numerous unnecessary deaths in the pursuit of profit. However, this is a story about community and family. It shares intimate details about how families live and the numerous traditions and rituals that structure their way of life. The story is told by a number of characters so you may get to hear the same event several times but from different perspectives, which I found a little confusing at times.

It is interesting as your read through this book and watch some of the characters develop. The outside world is treated with deep suspicion, yet the villagers want to believe that no harm is being done to them on purpose. There is a naivety about them that is both charming and frustrating. It takes the character of Thula to leave the village and use the American education system to learn how to fight for their rights by through revolution and unrest.

The book was quite slow in places, particularly when an event was being recounted from a different person's viewpoint and I did confuse some of the minor characters who only crop up occasionally. However, this was a thought provoking read which really shines a light on the evil intent of some sections of humanity.

The premise of this was interesting and different; an American oil company exploiting a fictional African village, leading to an environmental and health disaster for the village, but the execution was tedious. The collective we narrative voice made the reader removed from the circumstances, there was a weighty sadness that permeated the text with no sign of relief, the tale itself is entirely too long and drawn out with not enough of a discernible plot. Promising but fell short for me