I was hesitant about reading this book via audio, since I knew it was a saga with a large cast of characters. But having the full cast made a huge difference, and I ended up very much immersed in this (rather bleak) novel decrying the oil industry, capitalism and corporate greed. It’s set in a fictional African country, but the devastating problems posed to the village occupied by the American oil-drilling company are all too real. Toxic water, infertile soil, sick babies, governments too blinded by greed to care about its citizens. I particularly enjoyed the chapters narrated by ‘the children’ as a collective, they were very moving. I liked Thula’s chapters too, the young woman who eschewed traditional gender expectations to become a revolutionary, intent on taking back her people’s land. It lost steam towards the end, with Mbue adding a new POV too close to the dénouement for you to fully become invested. Grim and necessary in times of climate crisis.