A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream&;the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economyNew York Times Bestseller &; Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award &; Longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award &; An ALA Notable BookNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY  NPR &; The New York Times Book Review &; San Francisco Chronicle &; The Guardian &; St. Louis Post-Dispatch &; Chicago Public Library &; BookPage &; Refinery29 &; Kirkus Reviews 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 the Edwardses&; 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&; façades. When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende&;s job&;even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.Praise for Behold the Dreamers&;A debut novel by a young woman from Cameroon that illuminates the immigrant experience in America with the tenderhearted wisdom so lacking in our political discourse . . . Mbue is a bright and captivating storyteller.&;&;The Washington Post &;A capacious, big-hearted novel.&;&;The New York Times Book Review&;Behold the Dreamers&; heart . . . belongs to the struggles and small triumphs of the Jongas, which Mbue traces in clean, quick-moving paragraphs.&;&;Entertainment Weekly &;Mbue&;s writing is warm and captivating.&;&;People (book of the week) &;[Mbue&;s] book isn&;t the first work of fiction to grapple with the global financial crisis of 2007&;2008, but it&;s surely one of the best. . . . It&;s a novel that depicts a country both blessed and doomed, on top of the world, but always at risk of losing its balance. It is, in other words, quintessentially American.&;&;NPR &;This story is one that needs to be told.&;&;Bust  &;Behold the Dreamers challenges us all to consider what it takes to make us genuinely content, and how long is too long to live with our dreams deferred.&;&;O: The Oprah Magazine&;[A] beautiful, empathetic novel.&;&;The Boston Globe &;A witty, compassionate, swiftly paced novel that takes on race, immigration, family and the dangers of capitalist excess.&;&;St. Louis Post-Dispatch &;Mbue [is] a deft, often lyrical observer. . . . [Her] meticulous storytelling announces a writer in command of her gifts.&;&;Minneapolis Star Tribune Read Less