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How Beautiful We Were

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How Beautiful We Were

Written by: Imbolo Mbue
Narrated by: Allyson Johnson, Prentice Onayemi, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham, JD Jackson
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About this listen

Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, How Beautiful We Were tells the story of a people living in fear amidst environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of clean-up and financial reparations to the villagers are made-and ignored. The country's government, led by a brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interest only. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. But their fight will come at a steep price, one which generation after generation will have to pay.

Told through the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula, 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 onto its ancestral land and a young woman's willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people's freedom.

©2020 Imbolo Mbue (P)2020 Canongate Books Ltd Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic Reviews

"A formidable storyteller." (Jonathan Franzen)
All stars
Most relevant
A beautiful, heart-wrenching tale of how corporations take advantage of their power & wealth in colluding with corrupt governments against small villages. Very pertinent to our times. It was a tad longer than required but certainly a wonderful story. Narration is really well done. Definitely worth reading.

Very interesting & pertinent to our times

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