No Melting Pot
In Imbolo Mbue’s debut novel Behold The Dreamers, a migrant from Cameroon extols the beauty of his native town of Limbe to his New York employer, who simply asks, “Why are you here?”
It is difficult to explain to a man who has everything what it or like to live in a country where there are no opportunities for a poor man with no connections. But America hold out infinite possibilities even to those who work at menial jobs.
Jende Jonga struggled for years to come to America and then bring his wife Neni and son Liomi to New York. While he hopes for the elusive green card , he works long hours as a chauffeur for Lehman Brothers honcho Clark Edwards and his family. Neni works at low-paid jobs, looks after the home and dreams of becoming a pharmacist. Cindy Edwards lives a life of luxury, full of parties and shopping, but can’t prevent everything slipping out of her grasp.
Mbue builds a contrast-- cliched though it may be-- between the happy life of the immigrant, and the family of his employer falling apart. His wife is an alcoholic, his older son, Vince, is a rebel who wants to chuck up his privileged life and go to India, the younger Mighty finds Jende’s family more loving that his own.
She does not go into details about the 2008 Wall Street crash, but the fallout of the crisis impacts both families in different but devastating ways. Still, in a strange way, the ending is not tragic. There are always new dreams when the old ones crash.
It's a moving story told with empathy and relatable at many levels.
Behold The Dreamers
By Imbolo Mbue
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 400
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