Every Story Is a Love Story.jpg
Every Story Is a Love Story.jpg

Every Story Is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue

from $12.80
Hardcover:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers and How Beautiful We Were, a captivating novel about love lost—and the weight of regret

“Every Story Is a Love Story is a deeply moving, beautifully told novel about grief, regret, anger, forgiveness, and the insistent resilience of the human heart. Imbolo Mbue’s generosity on the page is breathtaking.”—Patrick Ryan, author of Buckeye

What if I’d never gotten into that car? What if I’d pulled out of the driveway five minutes earlier, or ten minutes later?

Three years after a car accident killed his wife, Wolo has slowly rebuilt his life. Then he receives a letter from Victoria, the driver, asking for his forgiveness.

His family urges him to ignore it, but Wolo chooses to meet her, and their conversations lead them into territory neither expected.

Every Story Is a Love Story asks what we owe people who have harmed us, whether anyone is defined by their worst moment, and whether shared suffering can create a bond.

Imbolo Mbue, author of the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning Behold the Dreamers, writes with emotional restraint and an eye for moral complexity.

It suits readers who want a character-driven novel about grief and reconciliation that keeps its hard questions open.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers and How Beautiful We Were, a captivating novel about love lost—and the weight of regret

“Every Story Is a Love Story is a deeply moving, beautifully told novel about grief, regret, anger, forgiveness, and the insistent resilience of the human heart. Imbolo Mbue’s generosity on the page is breathtaking.”—Patrick Ryan, author of Buckeye

What if I’d never gotten into that car? What if I’d pulled out of the driveway five minutes earlier, or ten minutes later?

Three years after a car accident killed his wife, Wolo has slowly rebuilt his life. Then he receives a letter from Victoria, the driver, asking for his forgiveness.

His family urges him to ignore it, but Wolo chooses to meet her, and their conversations lead them into territory neither expected.

Every Story Is a Love Story asks what we owe people who have harmed us, whether anyone is defined by their worst moment, and whether shared suffering can create a bond.

Imbolo Mbue, author of the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning Behold the Dreamers, writes with emotional restraint and an eye for moral complexity.

It suits readers who want a character-driven novel about grief and reconciliation that keeps its hard questions open.

  • Publisher: Random House

    Title: Every Story Is a Love Story

    Author: Imbolo Mbue

    On Sale Date: October 6, 2026

    ISBN 13: 979-8-217-15477-7

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $32.00

    Page Count: 352

    Dimensions: 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches

  • Imbolo Mbue is a native of Limbe, Cameroon, and a graduate of Rutgers and Columbia Universities who lives in New York City. Her debut novel, Behold the Dreamers, was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Faulkner Award, and was an Oprah's Book Club selection.

  • Critics and fellow authors are calling it compelling, moving, and tender:

    • Kirkus Reviews praised its compelling characters, who navigate the moral and emotional complexities of forgiveness and stumble into uncharted territory.

    • Publishers Weekly described it as a morally complex tale.

    • Patrick Ryan called it a deeply moving, beautifully told novel about grief, regret, anger, and forgiveness.

    • Francisco Goldman described it as intimately smart and tender, emotionally wrenching, and also funny and romantic.

This book is for you if

  • You're drawn to novels about grief and the long work of rebuilding after loss.

  • You're interested in forgiveness and what a person owes someone who caused them unimaginable pain.

  • You enjoy character-driven fiction built around a charged, difficult relationship between two people.

  • You admired Behold the Dreamers and want to read Imbolo Mbue's next novel.

  • You appreciate morally complex stories that raise questions of responsibility and compassion without easy answers.

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