Behold the Dreamers

Imbolo Mbue’s debut follows Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant chasing the American dream as a chauffeur for a wealthy Lehman Brothers executive, while his wife studies and cleans houses. When the 2008 financial crisis topples the banker’s family, both households are thrown into turmoil. The novel weaves the two families together to examine immigration, ambition, marriage, and the widening gap between rich and poor.