Kevin Reed | Entertainment Editor
“Behold the Dreamers” — a book written by Imbolo Mbue in 2016 — revolves around two Cameroonian immigrants travelling from Limbe, Cameroon to New York City. They deal with both the hardships of immigration and discrimination in their new home.
The book is written about a young couple, Jende and Neni. Jende is happy to have recently gotten a new job as the chauffeur of a wealthy stock investor named Clark Edwards. Neni is a student in community college studying to be a pharmacist. They live together in a one-room apartment with their son, Liomi.
Over the course of the book, Jende sees that coming to America was not the simple answer to all his troubles that he had hoped it would be. His family back home is still struggling to pay for even the basic necessities, his battle to be a legal citizen is tiresome and he works long hours for very little pay.
Jende and Neni also get a deep look into the Edwards family life. They see that despite the vast gap in the two family’s wealth they share one thing: adversity. Overtime it becomes more and more clear that the Edwards wealth doesn’t protect them from struggles in their lives. Everyone has troubles no matter how rich they are.
This book really shows the gritty truth about the “American Dream” that so many immigrants fantasize about. It’s a fact that nobody will ever appreciate how amazing America is as much as an immigrant coming into this country to start a new life. At the start the two Cameroonians look at New York City as a haven for them to escape their lives in Limbe. Over time they realize that this country may bring opportunity and wonder to their lives but it also brings new hardship.
They work so hard; endlessly fighting to reach a dream that, for them, may or may not be attainable at all. They are struggling to reach a wealthy life in America; free from the struggles they felt back in Cameroon. However, as they see from the Edwards, wealth may mean stability and a lavish lifestyle but it doesn’t mean happiness.
After reading this book it gave me a huge appreciation for how amazing this country is and how many opportunities I have in my life. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day struggles and it’s important to be thankful of the life we live here in America. There are people across the world who could never dream of going to college, being or being able to read. “Behold The Dreamers” inspired me to take advantage of every opportunity I have. I recommend this book to anyone wanting — or needing — to feel a new gratitude for the country we live in.
Mbue builds relatable characters and makes you feel every bit of emotion and suspense that they do. In the opening scene where Jende is interviewing for his new job, I felt really stressed out afterwards — as if I was interviewing for the job myself. And, in a way I relate with Neni and how she dreams of a better life in America even through some of the darkest parts of the book, she perseveres through it all to make a better life for her family.
Mbue is a really great writer. She builds fantastic relatable characters who are in depth and very three dimensional. Mbue came from Cameroon herself, and experienced many of the things that the characters in her novel go through first hand. This makes her writing and the situations in the book feel so real and personal to the reader. Throughout the book she uses traditional language and sayings from a cameroon. Her use of the language makes you really feel how different the culture is there and get a taste of Cameroon.
This book is very thought provoking and it made me analyze how unappreciated our country is but also how inadequate our system of immigration is. The novel widened my understanding of what it is like to be someone coming to America with little to nothing. I recommend this book to anyone wanting a thought provoking novel that will open your eyes to the world of an Immigrant.
Contact the author at kreed17@mail.wou.edu
Photo by: Audiobookstore.com
