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mscalls's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Rape, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, and Violence
mels_reading_log's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: War, Grief, Death, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Sexual content, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Chronic illness, Blood, and Child death
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
The story takes us through generations of Kosawa residents with switching POVs from Thula, different members of her family, and the children of the village. Their stories are emotional but contain glimmers of hope as they fight to get their land back from an oil corporation poisoning their families.
How Beautiful We Were has beautiful writing and well written, complex characters. I just love her storytelling style and ability to create such depth with all of her characters, giving each their own unique voice.
The chapters are a little too long for my taste making it feel slower/harder to read here and there, but as I got further into the novel, the chapters started to go by faster.
Overall a heartbreaking but enjoyable, groundbreaking novel! I can’t wait to see what Mbue writes next.
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Gun violence, Violence, Confinement, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, and Rape
Minor: Religious bigotry and Fatphobia
readingelli's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
Massacres, legal disputeska_cam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Police brutality, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, Racism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Stalking
Additional content warnings for environmental racism and imperialism, death and illness due to environmental destruction, cultural loss and assimilation, government corruption and state sanctioned violence, etcmia_difelice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, and Gun violence
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Police brutality, Gun violence, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Racism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Homophobia, and Torture
ukponge's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gun violence, Murder, Death of parent, Racism, Pedophilia, Rape, Slavery, and Kidnapping
lisa00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Murder, War, and Gun violence
frogggirl2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This book is a beautiful cultural artifact. While set in present day, because this culture is what we would call less advanced, there is near constant misogyny (things like saying a woman is useless if she can't have children, women can't work or remarry when widowed, etc.) throughout. Some demeaning discussions of gender presentation (when they visit the city they mockingly say they can't figure out what gender prople are because women wear pants and men have long hair, etc.) are sprinkled throughout. The culmination of all this sexism is the rape and forced impregnation of a woman who confesses rape is her worst fear, not by enemies but by her own community.
I thought this book was beautifully written with resonant themes and beautiful characterizations of relationships and community, but, on balance I cant say it was worth it to battle through this unending, disgusting, unquestioned misogyny and rape. Ultimately, the men in this community do to the women of this community what everyone else (government, corporations and colonizers) does to them (and so the women are doubly abused). I don't think this is what the book meant for me to take from it, but this is what I got out of it nonetheless.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Incest, Gun violence, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Murder, Child death, Death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
tina94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
Graphic: Police brutality, Death of parent, Death, Rape, Gun violence, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Murder, Colonisation, and Miscarriage
Minor: Slavery and Torture