Behold the Dreamers

Behold the Dreamers is a 2016 debut novel by Imbolo Mbue.[1] The novel details the experiences of two New York City families during the 2008 financial crisis: an immigrant family from Cameroon, the Jonga family, and their wealthy employers, the Edwards family.

Behold the Dreamers
Cover art for the novel Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. Cover designed by Jaya Miceli and features the novel's title and author's name handwritten over a wooden background painted with a repeating triangular pattern in contrasting colors. Small monochrome drawings of New York City landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, separate the novel's title from the author's name.
Cover of the first United States edition (2016)
AuthorImbolo Mbue
Cover artistJaya Miceli
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
Published2016
PublisherRandom House
Pages382 pp[1]
ISBN978-0-8129-9848-1 (Hardcover)

Plot

The novel opens in fall 2007 with the interview of an immigrant from Cameroon, Jende Jonga, who is hoping to be hired as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a Lehman Brothers executive. Jonga's job allows him to pay his wife's college tuition and send money back home until the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers threatens both families. Jende Jonga is also seeking permanent residency through a false asylum request.[2][3][4]

Major themes

In Mbue's novel, the immigrant family are discomfited by the transition to a new place, and find themselves changing in response, which was called "a fresh take on the immigrant experience".[5]

Development

Mbue lost her job in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and was unemployed for a year and a half. She wrote the novel to explain her new understanding that "the American dream is not that accessible to everybody".[1] Mbue was inspired to write Behold the Dreamers after walking past the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle, where she noticed black chauffeurs waiting for white executives and wondered about "the intersection of their lives".[6]

Mbue was inspired to become a writer after reading the Toni Morrison novel Song of Solomon, which she had picked up because it was filed on a separate shelf in a Falls Church library after it had been selected for Oprah's Book Club.[7] She wrote the novel over a period of five years[8] without telling friends or family, none of whom read it prior to its publication.[6]

In 2014, Mbue signed a million dollar deal with Random House for Behold the Dreamers, which was then titled The Longings of Jende Jonga.[3][9] Mbue credits a line from the Langston Hughes poem "Let America be America Again" with inspiring the revised title.[8]

Publication history
  • — (2016). Behold the Dreamers (1st hdbk ed.). Random House. ISBN 978-0812998481.

Technical details

The cover for the first US edition was designed and lettered by Jaya Miceli. Since its initial publication, the novel has been translated into eleven languages.[10]

Reception

Cristina Henríquez, writing for The New York Times, called it "a capacious, big-hearted novel" and praised Mbue's writing as suffused "with great confidence and warmth".[5] Ron Charles, book critic for The Washington Post, wrote that Mbue was "a bright and captivating storyteller" and said the novel avoided the cliches associated with most immigrant stories: "Mbue attains something fresh and insightful here."[11]

Awards and recognition

In 2017, she won the PEN/Faulkner Award for this novel. In June 2017, it was also selected by Oprah Winfrey for her book club.[12]

In 2022, Behold the Dreamers was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Debut Novel Takes On The American Dream ... Racism, Recession And All". NPR. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. "Wall Street Journal Unveils the Face behind Africa's Most Anticipated Novel". Bakwa. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  3. Deahl, Rachel (6 October 2014). "Frankfurt Book Fair 2014: Two Debuts Draw Seven Figures". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  4. "Behold the Dreamers". Goodreads. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  5. Henríquez, Cristina (1 September 2016). "An Immigrant Family Encounter the 1 Percent in a Debut Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  6. Mzezewa, Tariro (19 July 2017). "Imbolo Mbue on the Importance of Empathy in Life and Literature". Vogue. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  7. "Oprah picks debut novel 'Behold the Dreamers' for book club". USA Today. The Associated Press. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  8. Imbolo Mbue (24 July 2017). "Interview: Imbolo Mbue, Author of Behold the Dreamers". Book Riot (Interview). Interviewed by Tara Cheesman. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  9. Maloney, Jennifer (18 November 2015). "Betting Big on Literary Newcomers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 November 2017.(subscription required)
  10. "Behold the Covers". Bakwa. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  11. Charles, Ron (17 August 2016). "'Behold the Dreamers': The one novel Donald Trump should read now". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  12. Schaub, Michael (26 June 2017). "Oprah Winfrey selects Imbolo Mbue's 'Behold the Dreamers' for her book club". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  13. "The Big Jubilee Read: A literary celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign". BBC. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.

Reviews

Interviews
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