This was the first book I read for the quarterfinals of the BookTube Prize this year. I had heard of, but not read, Mbue’s earlier book (Behold the Dreamers), which garnered a lot of attention upon its release, particularly as it was selected for Oprah’s Book Club. So I was definitely interested in this book.
The story is one that is relevant to all of us. It’s the first Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) book I’ve read, and man did it pack a punch in that regard. It’s set in a fictional African village where an American oil company has been destroying the land in the pursuit of oil and its profits. The company went into the area under the guise of asking permission, but really had already been granted access to the land they wanted to use by the government. The village of Kosawa is small, and its inhabitants are subsistence farmers and survive on what they can grow and gather. They’re not technologically advanced, nor are they educated. They are, in the view of the American oil company, the perfect collateral damage.
This assumption proves to be a mistake, as over the course of the book the village becomes more and more sick, losing loved ones – including children – to poisonous water, food and air. Those who survive become angry, and then furious. They begin to look for any way to regain their land, and find hope in the form of a young woman from Kosawa who is determined to fight back.
As you can imagine, this was not a lighthearted book. But it was both important and hugely evocative. I suffer from medical issues that are closely tied to my environmental surroundings. I’m a bellweather for the health of the air and how much climate change is impacting the area I’m living in. Excess pollen, heat or smoke from wildfires all affect me drastically, to the point where most of the summer I can’t go outside without a mask on (one of the few benefits to COVID – at least I didn’t have to explain it as much!). So I know what it’s like when decisions made by people in positions of power far from where you live can affect your ability to breathe. This book hit me uncomfortably close, so I think that made it a harder book for me to read in that way.
That said, it was also beautifully written in parts, and the characters, while mostly tragic, definitely evoked empathy and anger. I loved how real the village and its inhabitants felt, and the descriptions of life there felt so genuine I believed it wholeheartedly. The scene-setting and world-building were excellent. It might not be a fun book to read, but I do think it is incredibly timely, and I’m pleased it’s getting such attention. There need to be more books like this that shed light on the far-reaching impact of the decisions governments make about how to use our natural resources, and the harsh reality that those who exist the farthest from those positions of power will inevitably shoulder the majority of the burden of their impact. This has always been the way, and it will continue to be so. Those who don’t have houses will breathe in more pollution. Those who live off the land will be left without subsistence if it is poisoned. And so on. This book makes this point sharply and directly, and in a way that does not allow for any shifting opinions on the subject. There’s no gray area when your children are dying.
I did struggle with this book. The subject matter was difficult, but that’s fine, it needs to be. But I found that parts of it seemed to meander without taking me anywhere, and I found my interest flagging towards the end. I have vivid memories of the beginning of the book, but not so many of the last half. By the end I wasn’t as invested as I had been at the beginning, and found it harder to focus my attention on listening to it (I read this primarily in audiobook format). Because of this, though I do think it’s a good book that has a very important message, it ended up in 5th place for my rankings. That said though, all the books in my list of six were very good, so while that doesn’t sound great, it’s still gotten through to at least the second to last round, which is no easy feat!
A fearless young woman from a small African village starts a revolution against an American oil company in this sweeping, inspiring novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Esquire • Marie Claire • Kirkus Reviews
We should have known the end was near. So begins Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were.
Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells of a people living in fear amid environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of cleanup and financial reparations to the villagers are made—and ignored. The country’s government, led by a brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interests. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle will last for decades and come at a steep price.
Told from the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, How Beautiful We Were is a masterful exploration of what happens when the reckless drive for profit, coupled with the ghost of colonialism, comes up against one community’s determination to hold on to its ancestral land and a young woman’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people’s freedom. – Goodreads
Book Title: How Beautiful We Were
Author: Imbolo Mbue
Series: No
Edition: Paperback/Audiobook
Published By: Random House/Audible
Released: February 1, 2022 (first published March 9, 2021)
Genre: Fiction, Cli-Fi, Activism, Exploitation
Pages: 384
Date Read: June 16-July 3, 2022
Rating: 6/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.95/5 (10,307 ratings)