User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Wow! If you read one book this year, this is it. Here is hoping that this book starts a movement.
How Beautiful We Were focuses on a village in Africa where an American oil company has arrived and polluted the groundwater and air in the process. This book does what a picture cannot – it tells the feelings of what it is like to live without clean water. We meet a young girl named Thula, and the book follows her, her classmates, and her family with the book devoting chapters to each group. Will this village be able to get this American oil company to clean up their waste?
Watch my video review here including the true story behind this book: https://youtu.be/Yva_hnrdFRk
Personally, I have never read a book that I knew was going to be 5 stars so quickly. The prose was amazing, and it didn’t hold back. About 60% into the book, a few dates were mentioned which made me believe that this book might be based on real events. With some research, I discovered that oil companies have indeed polluted the groundwater in Africa. There are news articles and pictures, but this book goes beyond. It details the feelings of living without clean water – What does it mean to actually have oil in your water which is supposed to be supporting your crops and trees and provide hydration?
Everyone should buy this book! However, if you consider yourself a social activist, a good person, and/or an environmentalist, this is a must-read. This is a book that I hope will change the world and shed light on an important topic.
*I received this ARC as a free copy from NetGalley for my fair and honest opinion.
2022 Reading Schedule
Jan Animal Farm
Feb Lord of the Flies
Mar The Da Vinci Code
Apr Of Mice and Men
May Memoirs of a Geisha
Jun Little Women
Jul The Lovely Bones
Aug Charlotte's Web
Sep Life of Pi
Oct Dracula
Nov Gone with the Wind
Dec The Secret Garden
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Rating: really liked it
I was a big fan of Behold The Dreamers, so I was anxious to read Mbue’s sophomore effort. This time, the story takes place in a fictional African village that has been ravaged by environmental degradation brought on by an American oil company. It’s the 1980s and both the company and the government are doing nothing to fix the problem. But in the midst of a meeting with the company representatives, someone finally takes action.
We hear from an assortment of characters, all villagers. Mbue does a great job of putting us in the minds of the different characters, as they search for a way forward. The main character is Thula, whom we follow from childhood through adulthood. The writing is beautiful and she provides a strong feel for time and place.
This is not a fast paced story and at times, I felt it rambled. The timeline jumped all over the place and sometimes made for a difficult time for my comprehension.
In the end, I felt disappointed with the book. I could sympathize with the characters, but I never felt that they resonated as real.
My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.
Rating: really liked it
A novel with many themes that are essential for understanding Africa: slavery, land exploitation, white man indifference to the plight of the indiginous communities, traditions and myths and many more. An astounding tale of villagers' fight for the right to retain dignity and their own ways of life.
Several voices tell their stories which present daily life, customs, moments of happiness and long periods of misery and helplesness when confronted with powers beyond their control.
A novel to remember!
*Many thanks to Imbolo Mbue, Canongate, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Rating: really liked it
[Leopard's paw, ©9GAG, Pinterest.]
"Because we carry the blood of the leopard.""The past always wins, because what it says is always true."Apologies, but I will need some more time to write a review, due to my personal circumstances.
Rating: really liked it
I was incredibly impressed by Imbolo Mbue’s debut novel Behold the Dreamers when I read it in 2017 and knew that this was an author whose work I would want to return to in the future.
In this second novel from Mbue we are given the story of a fictional African village named Kosawa where Pexton, an American Oil company, has come in to exploit the land... at first this company promised success and prosperity to the village... and of course paid the government well... but it soon emerged that all they brought were death and destruction due to reckless practices that dangerously polluted the water and the land.
The book uses a number of different points of view to tell the story of this small village’s attempts to reclaim their ancestral lands from Pexton and their government, and to get compensation so they could clean their water supply to help heal their sick and dying children.
It mostly uses the story of one child of the village, Thula, to show the impacts of what the American oil company and the government have done to the people of Kosawa. It follows her from childhood through to adulthood. Thula who is different. Thula who demands more from life. Thula who marches to her own drumbeat. Thula who wants education. Thula who wants to become a revolutionary and a peacemaker. Thula who wants restitution for her people.
The book uses her as a focal point but uses the eyes of her mother, brother, and village age mates among others to tell this compelling story.
But oh.... I’m so mad at this book.
Absolutely mad.
Because it’s beautiful. There are so many sentences and paragraphs that I highlighted on my book. So many truths about life and death, about family and loyalty, about justice and retribution... This novel at times floored me with its devastating honesty. With its incredible ability to truly get into the nitty gritty between corporate multinationals and innocent bystanders, in this case the village...
But it annoyed me because this book flatters to deceive. All that brilliance was tarnished by a meandering plot. A plot that technically gave a very complete idea of village life over the years but ultimately it was done at the expense of the novel’s direction and pace. Because it was too much of a slow read. It frequently dragged and felt clunky to read.
And then there was an issue with how the narrative unfolded I felt. The timeline felt disjointed. At times the book suddenly told of unexpected and harrowing events and I felt lost. I was confused as to whether I’d somehow forgotten something or if I’d skipped pages... but then the narrative backtracked to explain those events but it was too late. I felt the impact and gravitas of such had been eroded, and instead ad a reader I was left frustrated by the lack of consistency with the direction of the storytelling.
But on the other hand this story haunted me. It haunted me when it showed how little life is cared for in the pursuit of financial reward. It haunted me when it showed how demands for restitution turn to hopeless revenge ...
There’s so much good in this novel.
The story is sadly all too easy to believe. The sorrows and horrors that are inflicted upon the people of Kosawa all too realistic...
A brave and inspiring novel that regrettably isn’t executed quite as brilliantly as it could be, but is still very much worth a read. Definitely recommend it to book groups as it would make a for interesting and thought provoking discussion.
3.5 stars.
*An e-copy was kindly provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley for honest review* Publishing 11th March 2021, Canongate
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Rating: really liked it
In 2016, during a presidential campaign punctuated by racist alarms about immigration, Imbolo Mbue published her first novel about an African man struggling to become an American citizen. Informed by her own experience as an immigrant from Cameroon, “Behold the Dreamers” captured the hopes and frustrations of millions of people drawn to this country. Mbue’s capacious sympathy and careful fidelity to the voices of her characters — from the extraordinarily rich to the precariously poor — made “Behold the Dreamers” one of the most illuminating and touching novels of the year. When it won the PEN/Faulkner prize, Mbue’s success felt like a double celebration of the artistic talent of a young writer and the growing diversity of our literary canon.
Mbue’s new novel, “How Beautiful We Were,” once again asks us to behold the dreamers. But it’s an entirely different book, born of a very different dream. Begun almost two decades ago, this is the story of people touched by the United States from thousands of miles away. Though they place their trust in American decency, they’re not hoping to be allowed in but to be left alone.
“How Beautiful We Were” — that past tense is devastating — takes place in the village of Kosawa in an unnamed African country. Guessing the real location isn’t necessary; the tragedy that unfolds in these pages has been repeated in nations across the continent. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
Rating: really liked it
I know nothing about how a girl makes men pay for their crimes, but I have the rest of my life to figure it out. This book was worth the wait, when you read it, you will see why!
In Imbolo Mbue’s sophomore novel
How Beautiful We Were we are taken to a fictional village called Kosawa which is on the continent of Africa. Kosawa is home to the villagers who once live a simple life farming and living off the land. That is until an American Oil company called Pexton found oil close to the village and started drilling. Kosawa which was oncea fertile and thriving village is now home to children dying from toxic air and fumes. The land is barren and infertile, the river is polluted and water from the well can lead to death.
The Pexton’s overseer comes with promises and reparations that are never fulfilled. Each year the Villagers sit listening to promises of what is going to happen, how Pexton will start assisting them but nothing happens until one night, the village Madman decides enough is enough. With one bold move from one Villager, they all decide it is time to fight back. No one can image the fight that awaits them.
This is a story of fight, of greed, environmental awareness, poverty, corruption, activism, agency, colonialism and the cost of not having a voice. Told from the perspectives of Thula, her family and the children who grew up with her, we are giving an in-depth look into the history of Kosawa and Pexton and how the fight turned out. I loved that the author told this very heavy story from the point of views those who are not only involved but deeply impacted.
Yes, this was a slow burn, and generally I would lose interest but having the change in narration and the author making the fight against this oil company the focus of the story kept me deeply invested. I need to know what happened. How will it turn out? Can a small village in Africa win against a huge American oil company? Who will hear their voice? How can one woman win this uphill battle? Will they lose interest? Will they forget about all the children that died because the government decided to hand over land to an oil company?
Imbolo Mbue KNOW how to tell a story. She knows how to keep you invested and deeply interested. She is able to take you through a range of emotions that will not let up. She wrote these characters with care and dimensions. I particularly loved reading about the village history, customs and culture. How the Villagers interact with the world and people around them. I felt the author did a superb job of telling a convincing story through Thula. There is the ever-present folklore and culture that transcends and that for me was particularly well executed.
Friends, I could GUSH about this book. The themes of love, marriage, education, death, allyship, what activism looks like. There is so much to talk about and dive into. Did I mention the writing was just *chef’s kiss*. I could go on and on, but what I will say is that book was worth the wait!
Thanks
Random House for this book.
Rating: really liked it
Audiobook…read by Prentice Onayemi, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham,
JD Jackson, Allyson Johnson, Lisa Renee Pitts
…..14 hours and 7 minutes
It must be me—but I kept starting and stopping this ‘audio-listen’ many times. Parts resonated with me —parts didn’t.
I had resistance to this novel when it first came out —(but appreciated the high rating reviews- so I kept having 1 foot in and 1 foot out for many months.
I finally committed to it after a wonderful review by Lisa …(I know, lots of Lisa’s on Goodreads)….😊….
—I wasn’t sure I was up for the heavy weight of a story about greed of an American oil company that resulted in death of children in an African village.
I mean—is anyone up for this subject — Woopsie-Daisy-Party time?
….The writing is beautiful….
….The voices for Thule, (especially Thule: the longest living witness to so much manipulating deceit),The Children, Bongo, Sahel, Yaya, and Juba were all outstanding—[nothing needed correcting with the chosen audio-voices]
….The experience of family, love, community > were felt.
….The struggles were ‘really’ felt….the powerlessness of being able to do much about the corrupt dictatorship government
….The powerful role that generations pass down — giving dignity to their heritage was a strong component…..
But…..the gut ruthless penetrating emotional experience- for me - was weak. Perhaps there is a little bit too much telling and not enough showing? —or…..it was just ‘me’
I’m still glad I read it. It’s important story…..and Imbolo Mbue is a skillful valuable writer.
Thanks Lisa ….rating it 3.85…rating up to 4 overall stars.
Rating: really liked it
A stunning and powerful sophomore novel from Imbolo Mbue,
How Beautiful We Were tells the story of a fictional village called Kosawa in a fictional African nation which has been polluted by an American oil company called Pexton.
The people of Kosawa are deeply affected—physically, mentally and spiritually—by this contamination. The air, earth and water is marred by the oil company's presence. Children are getting sick and dying. While the Kosawan people suffer, profits line the wallets of the American oilmen and the turncoat Kosawans who are in their pockets.
Mbue chooses to write the story not from one singular voice but from the perspective of many villagers, especially those closely linked to our main character, Thula. Thula is a young girl who grows up to bear the weight of Kosawa's fate on her shoulders, compelled to take action against the regime that has so long suppressed them. In between these chapters are sections told from 'The Children' of the village, specifically those age-mates of Thula who witness the goings-on of Kosawa over the four decades that elapse during the novel. The writing is intimate and immediate, bringing the reader into each perspective as well as grounding them in the community at large by hearing from this group of children collectively.
The novel asks many questions of the reader and provides few, if any, answers. This may confound and frustrate readers who want a more tidy, plot-based story. While there is plenty of action and harrowing events throughout, it's clear this novel seeks to explore the inner lives of its characters and the questions they have about justice, loyalty, reparations, faith, and much more.
Mbue kicks off the novel by using a stereotypical 'village madman' character in an unexpected way. With this, she is asking what level of madness one must have, whether a revolutionary or an average citizen, to seek and claim what we are owed in this life, if we are owed anything at all. Leading a revolution takes not only hope and perseverance, but a bit of lunacy. To believe a young woman like Thula can overthrow a corrupt American company like Pexton is perhaps idealistic, but is it incomprehensible?
I found this novel to be utterly engrossing. It's quite dense and character-driven, so it should've been a slow read. But I couldn't put it down because Mbue has so richly crafted these characters and this village and centered issues that reflect what continues to go on in our world today. The biggest question for me revolved around children; how do we raise them in a corrupt world, and how do our choices, decisions, and commitments contribute to the legacy we leave them?
I was reminded of issues, ones I later found out were influences on Mbue, like Sandy Hook, Standing Rock, the BLM marches, the Women's March, and more. Having lived now through the turn of the millennium, 9/11, a war in the Middle East, the BP oil spill, the 2016 election, a pandemic and so much more, it's not unrealistic to read a novel that gives its characters very little reprieve from their suffering.
Though I haven't lived in their situation, and all things considered my life is extremely privileged, I could see the reflections of our world in this fictional village. The greed and corruption of a corporation is only possible through the greed and corruption of individuals. And conversely, the undoing of these power structures may not rely on the consensus of the many but on the actions of the radical few to fuel the 'Fire,' as Thula repeats, to burn it all down.
As one character narrates late in the book [not a spoiler]:
"I told her that on all sides the dead were too many—on the side of the vanquished, on the side of the victors, on the side of those who'd never chosen sides. What good were sides? Who could ever hail themselves triumphant while they still lived? Perhaps someday, I added, after all the dead have been counted, there will be one number for the living to ponder, though the number will never tell the full story of what has been lost."This book is a telling of that loss. The loss of innocence the children suffer, and the loss of lives both sides endure. Amidst all this is a sort of wistful nostalgia, a predilection for what once was (How Beautiful We
Were) that ultimately forces us to look forward, as that is the only way we are moving. Perhaps to a brighter future, or maybe simply more struggles, but that is for tomorrow to bear.
I am confident I'll be thinking about this novel for a long time. Mbue is an author I'll continue to read from and I eagerly await whatever she writes next.
Rating: really liked it
[4+] This wrenching, ambitious novel is very different from Mbue's "Behold the Dreamers, " which beautifully captured the varied perspectives of a few characters in NYC. This novel follows an entire village in an unnamed African country as they struggle against their brutal exploitation by both their country's leader and an American oil company. Mbue brilliantly depicts the oil company, their tactics and the villagers' response by using the individual and collective voices of the villagers. Like her previous novel, Mbue has created a profound, timely novel about momentous issues. (I listened to the audiobook which was very well done)
Rating: really liked it
"Remember what happened, the past says. Consider what might happen, the future says. The past always wins, because what it says is true - what happened lives with me, it surrounds me, ever present. I cannot trust the future and its uncertainty."
How beautiful we were before: before the degradation of our environment, before our children started dying, before we knew about greed and unkept promises, before we knew the foreigners' Spirit which would bring us out of the darkness we didn't realize we were in, before their prosperity their civilization strangled ours. But we should have known, the villagers thought. "What good ever came from overseas?" The history is not pretty.
Imbolo Blue tells the story of the village and people of Kosawa in a fictional country in Africa. It could be so many African nations where greedy authoritarian leaders choose wealth over the well-being of the people. When an American oil company gains permission to drill for oil under this village, under their homes, under their farmland, their lives are changed forever. The oil company and the self-serving dictator benefit; the people suffer. This alone is not what makes Mbue's book so extraordinary. There are so many themes in this devastatingly beautiful story, all contributing to the emotional impact.
The inhabitants of Kosawa valued family, hard work, truth. They never had encountered false guarantees. Their innocence, their persistent faith that things would get better waned as their land, air, and water became more polluted, more children died, and they kept hearing more excuses that were "as false as a snake walking on four legs". What could they do? How do you confront a corrupt government and a powerful corporation?
This multi-generational story is narrated by many different villagers, but it is Thula's story. She is a bright young girl seeking ways to find justice after the retaliatory death of her beloved father and uncle. The foundation of her plan was education.; it was not her way out, but her way to bring salvation through a peaceful revolution. Her determination to get an education prevailed, though education was not highly regarded, unheard of for a girl. But persevere she did. "Her books became her pillow and her blanket, her plate of food and the water that quenched her thirst. They sang lullabies to her." From the local schools through eight years of higher education in America, she is enlightened about peaceful revolution. Her plan is developed for her action when she returns to her homeland.
Thula does return with an unshakeable belief in the power of her intention. She becomes the hoped for savior, the heroine possessing "the fortitude of the sun - no matter how dark and thick the clouds, she was confident she could melt them and emerge in full glory." Thula, whose Spirit was not satisfied by worldly things but only by pursuing her purpose. She is the Martin Luther King, the Nelson Mandela; like them, she pays the price as she attempts to undo the wrongs, make those who promised, pay up.
This story seeped into my very being; it engulfed me and still holds me. It was the most powerful, moving, and arresting book a have read in a long time. Mbue started this novel seventeen years before she wrote Behold the Dreamers, but circumstances and the emotional drain it caused her resulted in long writing breaks in order to reenergize. I'm so thankful she found the strength to complete such a masterpiece. I will read anything this talented writer and wordsmith writes.
"This story must be told, it might not feel good to all ears, it gives our mouths no joy to say it, but our story cannot be left untold." ( the Fishes Plea song sung by the people of Kosawa)
Rating: really liked it
How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue is a moving story about a fictional African Village told from multiple perspectives. An American oil company causes devastating problems for the people and land. The villagers are dealing with a government that doesn’t care about its people and only cares about its own interest. The story revolves around Thula. Thula grows from a nervous, hardworking girl into a strong women fighting for justice. Thula is the kind of character that I look for in books. She is inspiring and relatable. How Beautiful We Were was difficult to read at times but very important and impactful. The village is always helping each other and Thula makes it her life’s mission to help others. I am always interested to get inside characters’ heads, so loved all of the perspectives in How Beautiful We Were. The characters had different experiences and it was interesting to see how they felt and reacted to certain events. I love Imbolo Mbue’s books and will read anything she writes.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Prentice Onayemi, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham, JD Jackson, Allyson Johnson, and Lisa Renee Pitts. All of the narrators did a great job and were the perfect voices for their characters. I am so glad I listened to the audiobook.
Thank you Random House for the gifted book and Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted audiobook.
Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...
Rating: really liked it
Beautiful writing, such poetic prose but so so boring aside from a couple parts. So many lines were worth highlighting!
I liked Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers but didn’t enjoy this one so much because nothing really happens at all. There’s really not much dialogue. A little disappointed but I can see why some people would really enjoy this. Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
I just read How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
This is a story about a small African village and an American oil company. It is narrated by a generation of children, and family members of a daughter named Thula.
Children in the small village are dying, oil spills are contaminating their drinking water.
It is beautifully written and is quite a sad situation. I did enjoy the book, and writing, however I also found it exhausting to read at the same time. For me, the variety of narrators made it a bit of a challenge.
3.5 Stars
#HowBeautifulWeWere #NetGalley
I want to thank NetGalley, Author Imbolo Mbue, and Random House Publishing Group - Random House. For my advanced copy to read and review
Rating: really liked it
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Listen to the full review here: https://bookclubbed.buzzsprout.com/15...
This is not a book, but a fable. The problem with fables is that they are supposed to be short, punchy stories. How Beautiful We Were takes a fables’ worth of material and stretches it into an entire book, stretches it so thin that you can see the light breaking through it. Although the light, in this case, is the sweet relief of finishing this burdensome tale.
The story is primarily told in the communal “we” as the village bands together against the evil oil corporation. The characters are defined by one or two attributes, never to change, and the dialogue seems to be ripped straight from a children’s book, so banal they might as well not have spoken at all.
The plot is predictable. Any reader can scan the book cover and understand exactly how this will play out. It might have been a shocking tale sixty years ago, but we all have access to the internet now and understand how corporations operate. The problem with a good vs evil theme is that—even if it contains some truth—it flattens any complexity. We know who to root for. It will be a happy or sad ending, and we will learn nothing throughout, as we already understand the simplistic moral before we even begin the first chapter.
