Mbue's "interest was more in writing a story about what happens when a group of people decides to push back against a powerful corporation."

Thula who had just graduated from a college in the United States forges a militant organisation which she uses to spearhead the social protest against her people.

[3] Writing in The New York Times Book Review, Omar El Akkad was surprised by the direction the novel took: "What carries Mbue's decades-spanning fable of power and corruption is something much less clear-cut, and what starts as a David-and-Goliath story slowly transforms into a nuanced exploration of self-interest, of what it means to want in the age of capitalism and colonialism — these machines of malicious, insatiable wanting.

"[5] Ron Charles of The Washington Post describes the moral complexity of the book as one of its standout features: "Although How Beautiful We Were is a love letter to a communal way of life lived close to nature, it's not a wholly romantic vision that ignores the villagers' own flaws.

Despite their 'brand of fragile innocence,' Mbue affords the people of Kosawa the full range of human decency and selfishness.