Petrofiction as a political weapon: the case of imbolo Mbue’s How Beautiful We Were

Abstract

[eng] In 1992, writer Amitav Ghosh coined the term “Petroficton” to discuss a new literary genre dealing with the social, cultural, and environmental consequences of oil extraction, and which includes novels such as Cities of Salt (1984) by Abdul Rahman Munif and Oil on Water (2010) by Helon Habila. This paper discusses the main characteristics of petrofiction and through an analysis of How Beautiful We Were (2021) by Imbolo Mbue. The analysis will be based on the main themes, the description of the landscape, narration devices, and the impact literature has on politics, both in the novel and in real life. The aim is to raise awareness of the important role petrofiction can play in achieving social justice and voicing the plights of those who have been silenced, and to understand the relations of subordination and dominance that have established a neocolonial hierarchy since the discovery of oil in the lands where these novels are set.