Imbolo Mbue's immersive Every Story Is a Love Story begins with a letter from Victoria Snow, the white woman who was driving the car that killed Wolo Lifafa's wife, Yoma, who was pregnant with twins.
It has been three years since Wolo lost his entire family, and he is still angry. The chapters alternate between Wolo's present in New York City and the past--from his courtship of Yoma up to the morning of her death. Through these juxtapositions, Mbue makes clear the opportunities available in the U.S. to the Lifafas, but also the trade-offs in leaving their homeland and support system in Cameroon. Wolo's mother Keka's recognition of the freedoms for women especially, and for the education of her two sons, compel her to remain in the U.S. when her husband returns to Cameroon for a position as a professor at the University of Yaoundé. He impregnates a student, Jokeh, whom he marries and with whom he has additional children.
Years later, when Osi, son of Jokeh, sexually assaults Mary Lambi, a young woman from a lower class, Keka and Jokeh ask Wolo, as the eldest son, to help them. Wolo is moved by how Mary's father handles Osi's transgression, and he finds himself thinking of the elder's ability to forgive.
Mbue (How Beautiful We Were; Behold the Dreamers) explores with grace and nuance in the numerous ways people experience loss, anger, and sorrow. She demonstrates that the perpetrators of harm also need to heal. Her tender novel allows readers to see they are not alone in their desire to move through grief and assures them that they will. --Jennifer M. Brown