Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo MbueThe immigrant genre is replete with stories of people who come to the United States looking for an elusive "better life." In this novel, Jende and Neni, a Cameroonian couple, come to Harlem hoping to find just that. Author Imbolo Mbue situates this novel during the financial crisis of the late 2000s. The couples' fortune begins well: Jende is hired as a driver for Edward Clark, a manager at Leyman brothers; and Neni, is using her visa to pursue a pharmacology degree. As a reader, I expected the story to end with Jende getting fired after the collapse of Leyman brothers. But there is a satisfying twist in the end that results in the couple getting an unexpected version of that "better life."
What I like most about the novel is the author's juxtaposition of the two male characters: Jende and Edward. Both men have high hopes for their sons and both are under a cloud of stress and expectation. Yet the power differential between them is great -- too great to ever breech. One could imagine that under different circumstances, they would be friends.
My rating for this book is 4 out of 5 stars. It is a fresh take on a familiar yet ever-relevant story.
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