Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

 

This is the story of Jende and Neni, a couple from Camaroon who are now in the United States.  Jende has been in the country for several years, working at whatever he can and saving to bring his wife and son over.  Shortly after they arrive, Jende has a major stroke of luck.  He gets a job as a chauffer for Clark Edwards, one of the top executives at Lehman Brothers.  Jende works long hours but he is able to send Neni to college to start working on her dream of becoming a pharmacist.  She also works as a home health aide and they save every dollar they can although it is expensive to live in Harlem and they must constantly send money back home to their families for various emergencies.

The Edwards family is extremely wealthy.  The husband works all the time, rarely spending time with the family.  The wife lunches with her friends, shops and goes to charity balls, and increasingly, drinks to hide her pain.  Their older son has renounced their way of life and heads to India to try to find a different way of living.  Their younger son is the same age as Neni's and when she spends a summer working for the Edwards, becomes very attached to her.

But things constantly change in life.  Jende's quest for asylum and legal papers is not going well.  Neni becomes pregnant and the couple have a daughter who is now an American citizen when they are not.  Mrs. Edwards takes against Jende and he loses his job which is keeping them afloat.  With Neni not yet back to school or work, he must work two jobs and still doesn't make the same salary as he did working for the Edwards.  It is unclear what will happen to the family.

This is a debut work by the author who is herself an immigrant from Cameroon.  The reader learns some of the obstacles that an immigrant faces when they pick up their lives and move to another country, hoping to fulfill their dreams.  There is also a bit learned of the Cameroon culture, the food, the way marriage is in that country and how family is regarded.  The couple only gets as far as they do because of a cousin who has successfully come to the United States and is a lawyer, and in turn, they help their family and friends as they can.  This book is recommended for multicultural readers.