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How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

How Beautiful We Were

A Novel

A Novel

A Novel

A Novel

A Novel

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

By Imbolo Mbue

Best Seller
Paperback $30.00

Jun 16, 2020 | ISBN 9780593213308

Hardcover $28.00

Jun 16, 2020 | ISBN 9780593132425

Ebook $13.99

Jun 16, 2020 | ISBN 9780593132432

CD $40.00

Jun 16, 2020 | 600 Minutes

Audiobook Download $20.00

Jun 16, 2020 | 600 Minutes

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    How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue
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    Jun 16, 2020 | ISBN 9780593132425
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    • Paperback $30.00

      Jun 16, 2020 | ISBN 9780593213308

    Hardcover
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    • Hardcover $28.00

      Jun 16, 2020 | ISBN 9780593132425

    Ebook
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    • Ebook $13.99

      Jun 16, 2020 | ISBN 9780593132432

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    • CD $40.00

      Jun 16, 2020 | 600 Minutes

    • Audiobook Download $20.00

      Jun 16, 2020 | 600 Minutes

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    About How Beautiful We Were

    From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers comes a sweeping novel about the collision of a small African village and a powerful American oil company.

    “We should have known the end was near.”

    So begins Imbolo Mbue’s exquisite and devastating novel How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, and centered around a fierce young girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, How Beautiful We Were tells the story of a people living in fear amidst environmental degradation wrought by a large and powerful 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 corrupt, brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interest. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight the American corporation. Doing so will come at a steep price.

    Told through multiple perspectives, How Beautiful We Were is a masterful exploration of what happens when the reckless drive for profit, coupled with the ghosts of colonialism, comes up against one village’s quest for justice–and a young woman’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people’s freedom.

    About How Beautiful We Were

    From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an American oil company.

    We should have known the end was near. So begins Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells of a people living in fear amid environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of cleanup 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. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle will last for decades and come at a steep price. Told from the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, 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 on to its ancestral land and a young woman’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people’s freedom.

    About How Beautiful We Were

    From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an American oil company.

    We should have known the end was near. So begins Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells of a people living in fear amid environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of cleanup 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. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle will last for decades and come at a steep price. Told from the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, 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 on to its ancestral land and a young woman’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people’s freedom.

    About How Beautiful We Were

    From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an American oil company.

    We should have known the end was near. So begins Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells of a people living in fear amid environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of cleanup 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. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle will last for decades and come at a steep price. Told from the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, 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 on to its ancestral land and a young woman’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people’s freedom.

    About How Beautiful We Were

    From the celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers comes a sweeping, wrenching story about the collision of a small African village and an American oil company.

    We should have known the end was near. So begins Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells of a people living in fear amid environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of cleanup 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. Left with few choices, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. Their struggle will last for decades and come at a steep price. Told from the perspective of a generation of children and the family of a girl named Thula who grows up to become a revolutionary, 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 on to its ancestral land and a young woman’s willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of her people’s freedom.

    Also by Imbolo Mbue

    Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club)
    See all books by Imbolo Mbue

    Also by Imbolo Mbue

    Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club)
    See all books by Imbolo Mbue

    Also by Imbolo Mbue

    Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club)
    See all books by Imbolo Mbue

    Also by Imbolo Mbue

    Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club)
    See all books by Imbolo Mbue

    Also by Imbolo Mbue

    Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club)
    See all books by Imbolo Mbue

    About Imbolo Mbue

    Imbolo Mbue is the author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize and was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Named a notable book of the year by The… More about Imbolo Mbue

    About Imbolo Mbue

    Imbolo Mbue is the author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize and was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Named a notable book of the year by The… More about Imbolo Mbue

    About Imbolo Mbue

    Imbolo Mbue is the author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize and was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Named a notable book of the year by The… More about Imbolo Mbue

    About Imbolo Mbue

    Imbolo Mbue is the author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize and was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Named a notable book of the year by The… More about Imbolo Mbue

    About Imbolo Mbue

    Imbolo Mbue is the author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize and was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. Named a notable book of the year by The… More about Imbolo Mbue

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $30.00
    Published by Random House Large Print
    Jun 16, 2020 | 565 Pages | 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 | ISBN 9780593213308

    Category: Literary Fiction

    Hardcover | $28.00
    Published by Random House
    Jun 16, 2020 | 384 Pages | 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 | ISBN 9780593132425

    Category: Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $13.99
    Published by Random House
    Jun 16, 2020 | 384 Pages | ISBN 9780593132432

    Category: Literary Fiction | Audiobooks

    CD | $40.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jun 16, 2020 | 600 Minutes | ISBN 9780593209950

    Category: Literary Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $20.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jun 16, 2020 | 600 Minutes | ISBN 9780593209943

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    Praise

    “The unforgettable story of a community on the wrong end of Western greed, How Beautiful We Were will enthrall you, appall you, and show you what is possible when a few people stand up and say, ‘This is not right.’ It is a masterful novel by a spellbinding writer engaged with the most urgent questions of our day.”—David Ebershoff, bestselling author of The Danish Girl

    “How Beautiful We Were goes to the heart of one of the most urgent matters of the day. The highly suspenseful story of an African village’s struggle for survival and justice in the face of ruthless American corporate greed is written with remarkable acuity and compassion. Mbue has given us a book with the richness and power of a great contemporary fable, and a heroine for our time.”—Sigrid Nunez, author of The Friend, winner of the National Book Award

    “Imbolo Mbue is a storyteller of astonishing gifts, which she uses in her second novel to lead us deep into the lives of a village decimated by environmental devastation and corporate greed. How Beautiful We Were reminds me of how interconnected we remain, no matter who or where we are.”—Tracy K. Smith, author of Life on Mars, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

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