Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 2000s
Set in the Year 2008/ Published in 2016
Trigger Warning – alcoholism,/ drug abuse/suicide/potentially upsetting scenes regarding American immigration
4/5 I spied Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers a few years ago and placed the book on my To Be Read (TBR) shelf. It pleased me when I learned our book club would read it last year. Furthermore, it thrilled me that this book was set in 2008 and that I read it for the Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC) since most of the action happens in the Aughts.
Click here for more information on this SRC.
“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’ façades… 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.”
I read this book with my ears, tuning in to listen to the dazzling reading of Prentice Onayemi. Onayemi pronounced names of characters and places, which pulled me into the story. I enjoyed hearing Neni sing in particular. I found the hopeful tone encouraging and the text rich. Some parts dragged for me, though; the pacing slow and almost ominous. As someone who remembers the 2008 crash, I knew something bad remained ahead for the characters. Otherwise, while not shelved on my Top 9 of 2022, I felt Behold the Dreamers deserves a nod as one of the better books I read. Also, I think I would try another Mbue book.
Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.
Starry Night Elf 