How Beautiful We Were tells a devastating story of a fictional African village called Kosawa.

For the children of Kosawa, the story of how their village was beautiful is nothing more than a myth. No sick children, fertile land and fresh air to breathe seems like a faraway dream. Kosawa, before Pexton arrived. Pexton is an oil-drilling corporation, that with the help of the local government, has laid pipelines in the land of Kosawa. Eventually, the pipeline spills, toxins seeping into the fertile land and drinking water, making the children sick and adults unable to grow anything to survive.

Kosawa’s people continue to hear empty promises of how everything will be cleaned up. The government is of no help, as it makes profits off of the Pexton’s land use. After burying countless children, the people of Kosawa decide to fight back. The fight spans generations, with unimaginable losses and innumerable tragedies.

How did it make me feel?

The Narrative

When I started reading How Beautiful We Were, I was sure that I was going to end up loving it. A devastatingly beautiful narrative, especially from the perspective of the children of Kosawa immediately pulled me in. As difficult as it was to read the struggles of the people tormented by corporate greed, when the narrative took a turn to villagers taking an action, I felt such exhilaration. I couldn’t wait to see what was gonna happen next.

However, that waiting seemed to go on forever. I felt like the built-up quickly turned lukewarm when the narrative kept on stretching, jumping from the POV of one character to the next, without significant progress in the story.  I found the ending as expected. However, there were a few aspects of it that I found bizarre. I couldn’t get why those were a part of this story.

The Characters

The protagonist was amazing. But I believe I would have liked the story better if it was entirely from her POV. Because her character is known entirely from other people’s perspectives, I felt like many aspects of her slipped through the cracks. Also, the author has attempted a collective narrative for the children of Kosawa. I found it charming at first but when the story reached its critical moments, I wished it was expressed from an individual outlook.

As the story moved further, some of the characters simply faded away. Given how important their roles were in the journey of Kosawa’s struggle against Pexton, I wished there was more to their individual stories.

Would I recommend it?

Even though it didn’t meet my expectations, I would still say that it is a beautiful read in terms of the writing and the style of the narrative. I think you should give it a go. This book has a tendency to become your favorite. It is a profound reflection of corporate greed coupled with a corrupt government and its effects on the helpless society.

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