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How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

What's It About?

"A novel with the richness and power of a great contemporary fable, and a heroine for our time." — Sigrid Nunez, National Book Award winner

“A masterful novel by a spellbinding writer.” — David Ebershoff, bestselling author of The Danish Girl

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How Beautiful We Were (Random House) by Imbolo Mbue is a heartbreaking story of a fictitious African village in the 1980s where children are getting sick and dying due to toxic waste. The root of the problem is an American oil company that is causing the pollution, and the struggle and sacrifice the people are willing to put themselves through to save their families is debilitating and often deadly.

One of the children, Toula, grows up and becomes a revolutionary, fighting for her people, her land and the village she loves. The story spans many years because the villagers had no resources; they derived their power solely from the land. This story was written with no judgment on either side of the tragedy and causes you to think about the price people are willing to pay to fight for justice. Emotional, frustrating and inspiring, this book will have you experiencing feelings from helplessness to empowerment and I highly recommend it.

Imbolo Mbue began writing How Beautiful We Were 17 years ago, before her breakout novel, Behold the Dreamers. When the unfinished manuscript of How Beautiful We Were became difficult to write, Mbue was happy to metaphorically leave the African village in her drawer and began working on a story closer to home … Harlem during the financial crisis. Behold the Dreamers was published in 2016 and during that year she was inspired by Black Lives Matter, the Women’s March and collective voices speaking out. She then revisited her African village and poured her heart into this story of human nature and the fight for justice.


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How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
Genre: Fiction
Author: Imbolo Mbue
Publisher: FABER ET FABER
ISBN: 9781838851380
Jennifer Blankfein

Jennifer Gans Blankfein is a freelance marketing consultant and book reviewer. She graduated from Lehigh University with a Psychology degree and has a background in advertising. Her experience includes event coordination and fundraising along with editing a weekly, local, small business newsletter. Jennifer loves to talk about books, is an avid reader, and currently writes a book blog, Book Nation by Jen. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two sons and black lab.

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