Behold the Dreamers: A Novel

ISBN: 0812998480

Author: Mbue, Imbolo

Condition: New

A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream-the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economyNew York Times Bestseller Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award Longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award An ALA Notable BookNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYNPR The New York Times Book Review San Francisco Chronicle The Guardian St. Louis Post-Dispatch Chicago Public Library BookPage Refinery29 Kirkus ReviewsJende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty-and Jende is eager to please. Clarks wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future.However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers faades.When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jendes job-even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.Praise for Behold the DreamersA debut novel by a young woman from Cameroon that illuminates the immigrant experience in America with the tenderhearted wisdom so lacking in our political discourse . . . Mbue is a bright and captivating storyteller.-The Washington PostA capacious, big-hearted novel.-The New York Times Book ReviewBehold the Dreamers heart . . . belongs to the struggles and small triumphs of the Jongas, which Mbue traces in clean, quick-moving paragraphs.-Entertainment WeeklyMbues writing is warm and captivating.-People (book of the week)[Mbues] book isnt the first work of fiction to grapple with the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, but its surely one of the best. . . . Its a novel that depicts a country both blessed and doomed, on top of the world, but always at risk of losing its balance. It is, in other words, quintessentially American.-NPRThis story is one that needs to be told.-BustBehold the Dreamers challenges us all to consider what it takes to make us genuinely content, and how long is too long to live with our dreams deferred.-O: The Oprah Magazine[A] beautiful, empathetic novel.-The Boston GlobeA witty, compassionate, swiftly paced novel that takes on race, immigration, family and the dangers of capitalist excess.-St. Louis Post-DispatchMbue [is] a deft, often lyrical observer. . . . [Her] meticulous storytelling announces a writer in command of her gifts.-Minneapolis Star Tribune