How Beautiful We Were
By Imbolo Mbue
Random House, February 2022, 384pp.

The Short of It:

This wasn’t a book I fell in love with, but it’s one I’ll remember.

The Rest of It:

How Beautiful We Were tells the story of the fictional village of Kosawa, where an American oil company’s greed destroys the land, the water, and the lives of its people. It’s an exploration of environmental injustice, corruption, and the cost of standing up to power.

While I never fully connected with the story as a whole, I was completely taken with Thula. Seeing the atrocities through her eyes softened their harshness, as her thoughtful nature and concern for the village’s well-being guided every decision she made.

Watching her grow from a young girl into a fearless revolutionary gave the novel its emotional center for me. Her determination was fierce.

This isn’t an easy read, but I appreciate what Mbue accomplished. The themes are timely, the message is powerful, and the story serves as a sobering reminder of the human cost when profit is valued over people.

Profit over people’s lives is still an issue we are battling today.

Source: Borrowed
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