Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club)
Behold the Dreamers (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel | Imbolo Mbue
A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dreamthe unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award A New York Times Notable Book Longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award An ALA Notable Book NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR The New York Times Book Review San Francisco Chronicle The Guardian St. Louis Post-Dispatch Chicago Public Library BookPage Refinery29 Kirkus Reviews Jende 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 loyaltyand 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 jobeven 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 Dreamers A 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 Post A capacious, big-hearted novel.The New York Times Book Review Behold the Dreamers heart . . . belongs to the struggles and small triumphs of the Jongas, which Mbue traces in clean, quick-moving paragraphs.Entertainment Weekly Mbues 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 20072008, 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.NPR This story is one that needs to be told.Bust Behold 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 Globe A witty, compassionate, swiftly paced novel that takes on race, immigration, family and the dangers of capitalist excess.St. Louis Post-Dispatch Mbue [is] a deft, often lyrical observer. . . . [Her] meticulous storytelling announces a writer in command of her gifts.Minneapolis Star Tribune
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Chelsea.Poole
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

Cameroonian couple Neni and Jende immigrate to America, NYC, to provide a better life for themselves and their families. Jende comes first and works hard to bring Neni, who follows with their young son. Jende soon gets a job he‘s proud of, driving for Clark Edwards, big wig at Lehman Brothers. Neni begins school, and both work hard for the American dream though setback after setback disillusions the couple, exacerbated with the financial crisis.

blurb
Chelsea.Poole
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

What does a librarian do with a day off in the next county over? Find a quiet corner in a familiar (though not one where employed) library and read undisturbed!

This one is for book club on Monday and I‘m pleasantly surprised by how invested I am already.

ErikasMindfulShelf Great book! 1mo
BkClubCare Sweet 1mo
84 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
she.hearts.horror
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

3🤩🤩🤩

review
Coleen
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Mehso-so

This wasn‘t a bad story. I just found it….underwhelming?
It was sad in many ways, and with a not necessarily predictable ending. But I actually liked that about it. Sometimes things don‘t end up the way you think they will. And that‘s real life.

review
VRM1975
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
Pickpick

.

review
IuliaC
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

A touching and realistic depiction of the way the American dream is experienced during the 2008 financial crisis by two families in New York; the former has immigrated from Cameroon facing hardship and several jobs to make ends meet and raise their children, and the latter are their wealthier employers struggling themselves with different kinds of trouble.

60 likes1 stack add
blurb
Cathythoughts
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

#Alphabetgame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Letter B
I remember loving this book, the writing, the characters, the story. An excellent read.

Please join in everyone who wants to 👍🏻♥️

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks for playing!! 2y
45 likes1 comment
blurb
LiteraryinLawrence
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

It arrived! Thanks for sending it and for the card @Kayla.Adriena ! And @shellleigh33 and @BennettBookworm I‘m so excited to read your comments in the book as well! It‘s been a fun round and I hope everyone enjoys their last book. #lmpbc

Kayla.Adriena Gosh it took it's time! Enjoy!!! 2y
68 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
mcctrish
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

Rainy day here so ironing and baking to finish this book. I made Lemon Oat bars from 100 Cookies by Sarah Kieffer. Thx to Mitch for the inspo 💛 This was an AMAZING audio book! It sounded like there were multiple narrators but just one. It‘s an amazing story covering a couple that immigrates to the US. They work hard; multiple jobs, school and start a family and come face to face with the real truth about the American dream #queensjubileebooklist

Tamra I‘m gonna have to break down and just buy 100 Cookies. 😉 I‘ve checked it out of the library a couple of times now. Those bars look fabulous! 2y
Mitch Ohhh - great job. They‘re lovey chilled ! 2y
mcctrish @Mitch I put them in the fridge and I will cut them when I get home from school today 2y
mcctrish @Tamra it‘s really a cookie Bible 🤣🤣 2y
44 likes4 comments
blurb
mcctrish
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

I listened to this today on my drive out to the chicken farm. These rogue roosters were not in the pen with everyone else and it was freaking me out because the farmer was mowing the lawn and I was driving and they were running all over like crazy chickens 🐓🤣🤣

39 likes1 stack add
review
Clare-Dragonfly
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Bailedbailed

I kept waffling on whether to give up or keep going, and eventually decided that if it wasn‘t a definitely finish then it should be a bail. I find most of the characters unpleasant and the story dreary.

blurb
BennettBookworm
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

@shellleigh33 I forgot to post but my #LMPBC book is headed your way! I sent it Friday morning! Thanks for your patience and I‘m super excited to see what y‘all think of this story…

shellleigh33 It was waiting in the mail for me when I got back from the beach Wednesday. I haven‘t been able to put it down since I started it yesterday after I got off work. Thank goodness it is a holiday weekend so I was have been able to read all day today 😊😊 2y
BennettBookworm Music to my ears! @shellleigh33 (edited) 2y
kstadt929 I miss our postal book club crew 👋 just saying hello!! 2y
BennettBookworm Yesss hello friend! @kstadt929 2y
39 likes4 comments
blurb
DrexEdit
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

I got through three books for #ReadingAfrica2022, so that kind of surprised me. Some good reads, some meh reads. Started the month with a DNF so I did not expect too much from reading after that. So it all turned out pretty well in the end! 😊

#BookReport for all he weeks in January.
@Cinfhen

Cinfhen Ugh a first book of the year bail is tough!! Good for you that you didn‘t hate read - I‘ve done that😫 glad the month ended on a positive 😊 2y
DrexEdit I've never heard of "hate read" before, but I know exactly what you mean! I shall have to add that to my vocabulary. ? 2y
49 likes2 comments
review
DrexEdit
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

This was my first book of 2022 & for the #ReadingAfrica2022 challenge, which I'm quite sure will take longer than 2022 to finish!
This was an interesting, but not quite engrossing story about Cameroonian immigrants living in NYC just prior to the crash of Lehman Bros. and the early stages of the 2008 recession. It's a soft pick for me. ⬇
@LibraryBelle
@BarbaraBB

I snuck in a couple of ticks for the #Pantone2022 challenge also!
@Clwojick

DrexEdit It's hard to tell which story takes precedence here. Is it an immigration story with the recession woven in? Or is it a high finance story with immigration woven in? All the characters are sympathetic at some point. It does show a bit of how difficult it can be to immigrate to the US. ⬇ 2y
DrexEdit But mainly I felt a bit let down because I thought Neni was the most interesting character. She was on her way to developing her own ideas and point of view independent of her husband and different from those she came from, when their world comes crashing down and that storyline just seems to disappear without much thought. 2y
Librarybelle Great review! This is on my to read list! 2y
BarbaraBB The Pantone challenge, that‘s cool! I remember enjoying this book but I don‘t remember much. 2y
Clwojick Great matches! ❤️💖 2y
58 likes5 comments
quote
DrexEdit
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

“He'd never been asked to wear a suit to a job interview.“

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

blurb
DrexEdit
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

So here's my totally revised January Forecast. I'm fairly certain I won't get through all of these, but most of them are for reading challenge commitments and the rest are library books that are cycling in and out of the list as they come due.

#weeklyforecast
@Cinfhen

TheSpineView Looking good! 2y
Cinfhen That Eleanor Roosevelt book sounds really good!!! And I really liked 2y
DrexEdit @Cinfhen the Eleanor Roosevelt book is vol. 3 in a series. Really well done and readable biography, but loooong! I am looking forward to Behold the Dreamers. I hope I can fit it all in! 2y
45 likes3 comments
blurb
jenniferw88
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

Waterstones #bookhaul from Black Friday.

Top 3 are for #ReadingAfrica2022 - #cameroon, #mauritania and #senegal, respectively - and 3 others just because.

@Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

28pts #Mistletoemaniacs @Clwojick

Lindy Nice stack! Behold the Dreamers left a deep impression on me. 2y
BarbaraBB Wow! I loved Behold the Dreamers too. And I am curious of Ghost after reading @Megabooks review! 2y
Librarybelle Oh! That‘s a great stack! 2y
youneverarrived Great stack 📚 2y
Clwojick I‘ve heard great things about this book, but have yet to read it! 2y
66 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
LeahBergen
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

I need to finish this one by Thursday for my IRL book club.

Here goes!

Cathythoughts I really enjoyed this one … look forward to your thoughts X 3y
Cathythoughts And good luck for Thursday 🤞🏻😁you can do it 3y
LeahBergen Thanks! I‘m enjoying it so far and it looks like I‘ll be done in time for our meeting. 😆 @Cathythoughts 3y
See All 6 Comments
Suet624 I think I‘m the only person who had less than glowing things to say about this book. Now I finally realize i was just really pissed off at capitalism. 2y
LeahBergen @Suet624 It was a soft pick for me. I think I was expecting more and wasn‘t blown away by it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y
Suet624 @LeahBergen good to know. 2y
74 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
rebbyj
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
Pickpick

Delicious

blurb
Deblovestoread
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Pretty cover 📚❤️ 3y
Eggs Perfection!! 3y
bthegood This was also a very good book😉👍 3y
39 likes3 comments
review
amyf0x
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

Jende and Neni are struggling to live their American dream in New York, but their immigration case is looming and they may have to return to Cameroon with their children.

Read March 12-19
Rated 3/5 ⭐️
Book 17/60

Cathythoughts I really enjoyed this 3y
10 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
GreenGrl87
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

Day 8: books from across the African Diaspora #blackliteracyisrevolutionary

review
Rachiiebookdragon
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
Mehso-so

This was a eye opening and intriguing story- Read as part of the #Buzzwordathon - January word is DREAM 3/5

blurb
CuriousG
post image

Day 11 of #12booksof2020 @Andrew65

This was an excellent novel documenting the struggle of many immigrants while reaching for "the American dream". Ultimately I found it melancholy, but in just the right way. Very much appreciated both the writing style and the story of this one.

quote
Rachel.Rencher
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

This didn't age well. 😳🤣

BookishMarginalia Total Landscaping? 3y
GingerAntics 🤦🏼‍♀️ wow, that‘s oddly terrifying now. No one would have ever guessed people would have to specify which Four Seasons. 🤣😂🤣 3y
See All 9 Comments
Smartypants This is a great book and such a funny passage in light of current day circumstances. 😂 3y
Clare-Dragonfly I think it aged beautifully 😂😂😂 3y
lynneamch Oh wow. I had no recollection of that passage. Great example of how the time in which we read something can alter our interpretations. Fantastic book! 3y
MicheleinPhilly 🤣🤣🤣🤣 As a resident of Philadelphia, I will say that the Four Seasons is the gift that keeps on giving. @BookishMarginalia 3y
rabbitprincess Ahahaha omg! 🤣🤣 3y
CuriousG 🤣🤣🤣 3y
66 likes9 comments
blurb
Rachel.Rencher
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

I was wondering why my feet got so cold. Someone decided to curl up like a burrito in the bottom of my blanket, which left a huge gap for the cold air to get in. 🥶 Oh well, he's cute. I'll allow it. 😂

GingerAntics 🤣😂🤣 3y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook So hilarious and cute! 3y
Clare-Dragonfly That‘s what you get for reading instead of paying attention to him! 😉 3y
77 likes3 comments
blurb
Rachel.Rencher
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

He looks happy, but he's secretly plotting my death for paying more attention to my book than him.

(Don't worry, today he got a 2 mile walk, lots of rolling in the snow, carrot snacks while we made stew, and snuggle time on the couch during a movie...he's not even close to deprived. Just spoiled.)

Librariana That cute little face, tho! 😍🥰 3y
Caroline2 Ahhhhh!!! Too cute 🥰 3y
BookwormM Those ears too cute 🥰 3y
101 likes3 comments
blurb
Rachel.Rencher
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

Breakfast (even though it's noon now) is freshly baked lemon blueberry muffins. I had to change a few things in the recipe due to lack of ingredients & no desire to go to the store, but I think they still turned out amazing. 😋

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Love your mug. 🐘 3y
Rachel.Rencher @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Thank you! I got it from a local potter back when we could still have farmers markets 🤗 3y
80 likes2 comments
blurb
Rachel.Rencher
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

My midnight snack last night was a little...weird? Every time I get settled into reading at night, I get weird cravings (I'm not pregnant, never have been, never will be). So, yeah. I had to make tomato salad with lemonade. 😂

Anyone else get hungry like right as you sit down to read? What's your book snack?

Branwen YES! This happens to me all the time! My favorite snack when reading is popcorn! Or toast with cheese! 😋💕📚 3y
MartinaLove Dry grapes and mangoes. Bleuberries, rasberries and blackberries. Nuts. These are my go to snack, everytime. 3y
Deblovestoread Popcorn or sunflower seeds seem to be my go to...usually with a bite or two of chocolate. 3y
Seekingtardis I have a “snickity snack” bowl just for when I am reading! It‘s big and plastic so I don‘t spill things everywhere!! 3y
82 likes4 comments
blurb
Rachel.Rencher
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

Starting a new book before bed tonight. 😍 I've been wanting this one for a long time.

Cathythoughts I really enjoyed this one 👍🏻❤️ great story (edited) 3y
CuriousG Read this a few months ago and really liked it. Enjoy! 3y
81 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
MariettaSG
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
Pickpick

C for Cameroon. I enjoyed this but it wasn‘t a page turner. It gave good insight to the migrant experience, I would not classify the main characters as asylum seekers as they were not fleeing persecution/war rather they chose to try to achieve a better life in the US. In the end they chose going home over the US and gave a new perspective on the US, not an entirely favourable one - that the great American Dream is dead.

blurb
MariettaSG
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue

I chose this because I wanted something from Cameroon, I really struggled to get hold of a work in translation out of Cameroon so reading this by a Cameroon author living in NY. Enjoying it and finding that for me it is about the migrant experience, the difficulties, confusions and hopes of those who move to a new place in hope of a better future, just as my parents did when I was 3. #Vegemite is not a powerful chocolate spread. 😱😂

review
Jebpix
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

blurb
MariettaSG
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue

Just ordered this! Excited!

review
Tamarity
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
This post contains spoilers
show me
Mehso-so

It was an interesting book about the immigration experience. I guess we‘re supposed to be happy because he only beat her once. Why do men who want to rise up not see the hypocrisy of keeping “their” women down. I get that the scene added realism.
Rant over...

blurb
perfectlywinged
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

A character driven fiction set after the economic crash of 2008 from two perspectives: an immigrant family and the wealthy New York family they work for.

quote
ke1lbe1l
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

She was noticing something for the first time ...a white man walking with a white woman, a black teenager giggling with other black teenagers ...Even in NYC. Even in a place of many nations and cultures. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor preferred their kind ... and why shouldn‘t they? It was far easier to do so than to spend one‘s limited energy trying to blend into a world one was never meant to be a part of.

quote
ke1lbe1l
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

“People act as if things in America have to be better than things everywhere else. America doesn‘t have the best of everything.”

quote
ke1lbe1l
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

“Bad news has a way of slithering into good days and making a mockery of complacent joys.”

blurb
BookNAround
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

Took my book and took my mask and did my civic duty. Because I had my book, no line at all. Souvenir pen (for both signing and voting) was the reward in lieu of a sticker. And on leaving, I found a penny so I should have good luck all day. Pluses all the way.

Cinfhen 🙌🏻 3y
Lcsmcat Your county provided much nicer pens. Ours was a plain stick pen. Thanks for voting! 3y
Bookish_B You get pens?! All I got was a sticker 😜 3y
Hooked_on_books Great pen! My whole state votes by mail (this is the first year of it, but it was all set to go pre-COVID), so no sticker or pen for me. My ballot went in last week! 3y
63 likes4 comments
blurb
BookNAround
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

It seems to be a pattern with me to start the book club book the day before the meeting. Hope this is a fast read!

LeahBergen I do that, too. 😆 3y
charl08 Yup, book suddenly becomes less attractive when I "have" to read it... 3y
58 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
Rachel.Rencher
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

As @MrT wisely said, the silver lining of Korea not working out is that I get to restock my collection with new-to-me titles. I have about $100 worth of credits at a local bookstore, and I went a couple days ago to get this stack. It's a slow process to feel okay about what we lost after years of building our collection together, but the lessons learned from this are invaluable. I can't wait to post our library once we have our own place again. 💕

BarbaraBB Sounds like you will be okay 🤞🏽💕 (edited) 3y
Rachel.Rencher @BarbaraBB We're resilient. Just had the wind knocked out of us for a while, but it always gets better doesn't it? 💕 3y
BarbaraBB It must have been hard on you, I can imagine. It still is probably. But I am happy that you are collecting again and building a future again. Take care 💕 3y
MrT First time I‘ve ever been called wise. Ta ☺️ 3y
86 likes4 comments
review
ChaoticMissAdventures
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

This is lovely. Ups and downs of a family who are trying to immigrate to New York from Cameroon.

The characters are vividly drawn and the storyline is interesting, the juxtaposition between the rich white family and the Cameroonian Jonga family are painted starkly and believably.

The writing was so well done I was surprised to read this is Mbue's debut.

Cathythoughts I really enjoyed very much too 4y
30 likes3 stack adds1 comment
blurb
ChaoticMissAdventures
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

#weeklyforcast
Have already started Behold the Dreamers and am loving it. An extra day off this week makes for good reading time.

blurb
BarbaraBB
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

#BookReport 35/20

A very satisfying reading week. I enjoyed all these books a lot!

TrishB A good week 👍🏻 4y
Megabooks 👍🏻👍🏻💜 4y
vivastory Fantastic week! 4y
See All 10 Comments
Cinfhen Wonderful ♥️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y
Kalalalatja I feel like there‘s some #spinepoetry hidden in this stack, but I can‘t figure out the right way to arrange them 😅 4y
BarbaraBB @Kalalalatja 🤣 you might be right. Something with clapping while landing on tracks covered with banana peels 😃 4y
Kalalalatja It is a funny image 🤣 especially when I picture a stereotypical professor and housekeeper doing it 4y
ChaoticMissAdventures Behold the Dreamers; The Housekeeper and the Professor; Clapping while Landing; On Tracks Covered With Banana Peels 😂. (I am reading Behold the Dreamers now so so good) 4y
BarbaraBB @ChaoticMissAdventures You did it 😀! There was a poem in there, @Kalalalatja was right! And I also enjoyed the book a lot! 4y
Kalalalatja Well done @ChaoticMissAdventures 👏👏👏 4y
85 likes2 stack adds10 comments
review
BarbaraBB
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image
Pickpick

Jente and Neni are a young Cameroonian couple with kids living illegally in NYC. Jente works as a driver for the very wealthy Mr Edwards, a hotshot at Lehman Brothers. We all know how that ended. It is a sad and loving book about different cultures getting to know eachother but the gap is too big. And year there is a happy ending - sort of. A very enjoyable book, thanks for sharing this one Cindy 💕
And it is so cool to own #BOTM books🤩

#ATY2020

Cathythoughts Nice review! Such a good book 4y
Reviewsbylola I loved this one. 4y
Cinfhen I‘m so glad you enjoyed this one...I thought it was such a strong debut!! I have her newest ARC 4y
Kalalalatja It is such a good book! 4y
82 likes5 comments
blurb
BarbaraBB
Behold the Dreamers | Imbolo Mbue
post image

#WeeklyForecast 35/20

This week I want to read two books gifted to me by @Cinfhen (the tagged one) and @Lizpixie : Miller‘s Valley, my current read. If I have time I‘ll pick up my next #ReadingEurope2020 book, for Slovakia.

squirrelbrain Loved Behold The Dreamers! ❤️ 4y
Judybskt I loved Miller‘s Valley 4y
Megabooks Behold is so good. I enjoyed Miller‘s too! 4y
Lizpixie Let me know what it‘s like🤔 4y
63 likes4 comments