Waiting on Wednesday #37 – Behold the Dreamers

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

This Week I’m Waiting On……..

 

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Publisher: Random House

Publication: August 23rd 2016

Genres: Literary Fiction, Cutural

ADD TO GOODREADS

For fans of Americanah and The Lowland comes a debut novel about an immigrant couple striving to get ahead as the Great Recession hits home. With profound empathy, keen insight, and sly wit, Imbolo Mbue has written a compulsively readable story about marriage, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream.

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 their 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’ facades.

Then the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Desperate to keep Jende’s job, which grows more tenuous by the day, the Jongas try to protect the Edwardses from certain truths, even as their own marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.

Advance praise for Behold the Dreamers

“A beautiful novel about one African couple starting a new life in a new land, Behold the Dreamers will teach you as much about the promise and pitfalls of life in the United States as about the immigrants who come here in search of the so-called American dream.”—Sonia Nazario, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Enrique’s Journey

 

Why Am I Waiting?

As soon as I read the synopsis for this book weeks ago, I knew that I needed to read it. It’s on pre-hold on Overdrve, and I’m second in line. Can’t wait to read this next month! OAN: I’ll be leaving for Florida tomorrow, but I have posts scheduled for the rest of this week. I will be back around the blogosphere Wednesday, or Thursday if I’m too busy. I’m only taking my Kindle with me, so I’m sure I’ll be updating what I’m reading on Goodreads. See you when I get back! What book are you waiting on this week?