Behold the Dreamers

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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 loyalty and Jende is eager to please Clark s 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 fa ades.When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende s 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. Download Behold the Dreamers – kino-fada.fr America was passing her by New York City was passing her by Bridges and billboards bearing smiling people were passing her by Skyscrapers and brownstones were rushing by Fast Too fast Forever. 3 1 2 stars Ah, this book was a pleasant surprise I picked Behold the Dreamers for my September Book of the Month read, mostly because none of the others appealed to me I hadn t any previous plans to read it but, as it happens, it turned o...This novel resonates with contemporary social and political issues dominating in the US, Europe and Australia, where there is a growing and visceral tide of hatred and rage against immigrants Imbolo Mbue has written an illuminating book on the immigrant experience amidst the hollowness of the American dream set in New York The story is told from the perspectives of Jende Jongo, and his wife, Nemi, who are from Cameroon dreaming of a better future in their new home They have a son, Liomi, for This novel resonates with contemporary social and political issues dominating in the US, Europe and Australia, where there is a growing and visceral tide of ha...Although the novel takes place in 2008 , even now eight years since then , this is an extremely relevant story given this current political discourse on the immigration issue Jende Jonga in efforts to get his green card explains to Clark Edwards, in his interview for a job as chauffeur why he wants to be in America Everyone wants to come to America, sir Everyone To be in this country, sir To live in this country Ah It s the greatest thing in the world, Mr.Ed...You think I don t want to remain in America, too You think I came to America so that I can leave I work as a servant to people, driving them all over, the whole day, sometimes the whole week, answering yes sir, yes madam, bowing down even to a little child For what, Neni What pride are you talking about I lower myselfthan many men would ever lower themselves What do you think I do it for For you, for me Because I want us to say in America But if America says they don t want us inYou think I don t want to remain in America, too You think I came to America so that I can leave I work as a servant to people, driving them...Different things are important to different people Behold the Dreamers captured me from the very first chapter I was actually planning on picking this up closer to its release date, but decided at the last minute to just read a line or two to see if it would work in my favor or not And wow, did it impress for the first half.This tells the tale of a family of three living in Harlem, New York Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himsDifferent things are important to different people Behold the Dreamers captured me from the very first chapter I was actually planning on picking this up closer to its release date, but decided at the last minute to just read a line or two to see if it would work in my favor or not And wow, did it impress for the first half.This tells the tale of a family of three living in Harlem, New York Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six year old sonAs often as she could, she sat in the library to do her homework, or went to office hours to hound professors for advice on what she needed to do to get better grades so she could get into a great pharmacy school She was ...Sometimes, a novel arrives at just the right moment.Here we are in a crater of xenophobia One of our presidential candidates is foaming at the mouth about extreme vetting for immigrants But then along comes 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 While another author might have played that imperative title sarcastically, for Imbolo Mbue, Behol Sometimes, a novel arrives at just the right moment.Here we are in a crater of xenophobia One of our presidential candidates is foaming at the mouth about extreme vetting for immigrants But then along comes Behold the Dreamers, a debut novel by a young w...3.5 I went back and forth, trying to decide whether or not I liked any of these characters, except form the young children of course who were victims of circumstances they could not control Was pretty sure I liked Jende for most of the book until he did something I abhorred Nein too does something, out of desperation, but I did not much like her for it The Edwards, Cindy and Clark were pretty much representative of the privileged culture, or at least how they are usually portrayed I did even 3.5 I went back and forth, trying to decide whether or not I liked any of these characters, except form the young children of course who were victims of circumstances they could not control Was pretty sure I liked Jende for most of the book until he did something I abhorred Nein too does something, out of desperation, but I did not much like her for it The Edwards, Cindy and Clark were pretty much representative of the privileged c...3 stars There were many things I liked about Behold the Dreamer, but in significant ways it ended up feeling like a missed opportunity Imbolo Mbue tells the story of married couple Jende and Nemi, who have moved from Cameroon to New York City to pursue their dream of a better life in America The story is told from their alternating points of view Jende works as a chauffeur for a high finance guy who works on Wall Street in 2008 at the time of the financial collapse, and Nemi works odd jobs 3 stars There were many things I liked about Behold the Dreamer, but in significant ways it ended up feeling like a missed opportunity Imbolo Mbue...4.5 StarsImbolo Mbue s debut novel, Behold the Dreamers takes a look at the immigrant dream of life in the United States, with promises of bigger, better than wherever you came from Undoubtedly, there can be truth to that, but what happens to that dream when it seems elusive, out of reach or comes undone I was hooked right from the start by the story of Jende Jongo, formerly of Limbe, Cameroon, finding a dream job as a chauffeur for an executive at Lehman Brothers, in the year 2007 He s been 4.5 StarsImbolo Mbue s debut novel, Behold the Dreamers takes a look at the immigrant dream of life in the United States, with promises of bigger, better than wherever you came from Undoubtedly, there can be truth to that, but what happens to that dream when it seems elusive, out of reach or comes undone I was hooked right from the start by the story of Jende Jongo, formerly of Limbe, Cameroon, finding a dream job as a chauffeur...4.5 A debut You re kidding Cameroon, where some families are so poor, we re told, they give their children away It s supposedly a win win The kids have a better life with a wealthier family, and the poor family has one less mouth to feed Sound appealing No I didn t think so, and neither did Jende Jonga.To escape poverty, Jende went to America as a visitor, overstayed his visa, brought his wife and young son over, and now keeps trying to get papers so he won t be deported They live i 4.5 A debut You re kidding Cameroon, where some families are so poor, we re told, they give their children away It s supposedly a win win The kids have a better life with a wealthier family, and the poor family has one less mouth to feed Sound appealing No I didn t think so, and neither did Jende Jonga.To escape poverty, Jende went to America as a visitor, overstayed his visa, brought his wife and young son o...

Behold the Dreamers
  • English
  • 24 March 2017
  • Paperback
  • 400 pages
  • 0525509712
  • Imbolo Mbue
  • Behold the Dreamers