# Behold the Dreamers - Hardcover

by **Imbolo Mbue** (Author)

**A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream--the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy**

****_New York Times_ Bestseller** - **Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award** \- 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 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.

**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_**

"Mbue's writing is warm and captivating."**\--_People_ (book of the week)**

" Mbue's\] book isn't the first work of fiction to grapple with the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, but it's surely one of the best. . . . It's 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_**

### Author Biography

**Imbolo Mbue** is a native of the seaside town of Limbe, Cameroon. She holds a BS from Rutgers University and an MA from Columbia University. A resident of the United States for more than a decade, she lives in New York City.

_Behold the Dreamers_, her critically acclaimed debut novel, won the 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was named by _The New York Times_ and _The Washington Post_ as one of the notable books of 2016. It was also named as a best book of 2016 by NPR, _Kirkus Reviews,_ the _San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian_ and the _St. Louis Post-Dispatch._ The novel also won the 2017 Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize.

**Number of Pages:** 400

**Dimensions:** 1.25 x 9.56 x 6.5 IN

**Publication Date:** August 23, 2016

**Award:** PEN/Faulkner Award (2017)

## Details

- **Price:** 29.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 29.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Behold the Dreamers - Hardcover

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