Reviews

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

goodbyerachel's review against another edition

3.25

I enjoyed the story and the narrative structure with the different POV chapters. But the writing style was less ideal for me. 

This was a great book club discussion 

readingafrica's review against another edition

3.0

It's a poignant story about revolution and all the losses that accompany it. The tale is narrated from the perspective of various people living in a village where an oil company has caused great environmental damage after years of drilling their land for oil. I didn't like the pacing of the story, and found the novel a little tedious to read for some reason (possibly a combination of Corona-blues and my discomfort with the author's writing style). It is a good story though, even if it's a bit of a downer.

knlange9's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

juarezam's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

gemarky's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

lizjackson1990's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

lynneliu's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

akmickler16's review against another edition

4.0

This book covers so many important themes, especially for those of us working in the international development space. It is beautifully written, covering the vantage points of different generations and family members in the community over time, and follows the village’s sustained, bloody, and heart wrenching fight against oil giants. While a bit slower paced than her first novel, I still really enjoyed it and would highly recommend.

alicebme's review against another edition

DNF at page 48. This book is remarkable, but my heart is a lil fragile. So I’ll pick it up later.

shawndwldf's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0