Summary

In the opening, untitled chapter, set in 1981, the collective narrator (representing the voice of the village children) introduces a meeting between the villagers and the representatives of the oil company Pexton. The villagers all attend the meeting: elders, villagers with dead or dying children, grandmothers and mothers, babies, young women, and young men. Three men represent Pexton: the Round One (named for his round face), the Sick One (named for his too-large suits), and the Leader (who does most of the talking).

The village leader, Woja Beki, begins the meeting by thanking the villagers for coming. The villagers do not trust Woja Beki because they believe he receives bribes from Pexton and serves Pexton’s interests before the interests of the village.

During the meeting, the Pexton representatives offer the same lies to the villagers they have offered for years: that the deaths...