I’ve had this book on my TBR since it was published in March 2021. The stunning cover has taunted me since then! (Props to Daniel Arsham for his amazing sculpture and Jaya Micelli for her cover design!). When I was looking for a book set in Africa to fit the bill for my #ReadAroundTheWorld 7 continents/7 months challenge, I knew this was the one.

Kosawa, a fictional African village, is home to a people whose children are dying from toxic water. It's the 1980s and Pexton has been drilling for oil in the village and have the full support of the country's dictator. When the novel starts, the Pexton reps are having a meeting with the villagers when the village madman captures the company's reps' keys and all hell breaks loose.

At this point I thought the novel would lead to a long-fought victory. But life is not like that. And Mbue is too smart and talented for that. And thank goodness because this novel blossoms into a decades-long tale told from multiple perspectives that breaks your heart and raises your ire. The most vocal of the characters, Thula, hopes her education will help her figure out a way to save her homeland. "The children" are a Greek chorus of sorts, who have grown up with Thula, are devoted to her and her cause. Parents, siblings, and other villagers have their say. Yet the vestiges of colonialism and the heartlessness of capitalism continue to devastate as the village and its people go through more changes brought on by time.

I love the expanse of this book. So many voices. So many issues. So much emotion. Mbue is great at shifting through various timelines and characters. Some minor quibbles were perspectives in the middle that didn't really move the plot forward and intriguing characters (Yaya) who only got one chapter to speak. This wasn't quite a 5-star read for me, but it was pretty close, so I'm giving it 4.5.

If you enjoy sprawling, issue-driven literary fiction, this is a great one.