Cameroon: Behold the Dreamers

Behold the Dreamers

by Imbolo Mbue

Behold the Dreamers is primarily set in the United States, but tells the tale of two young immigrants who come to New York full of hope for their future and who ultimately learn to love and respect their home country of Cameroon.  This is the reverse of the main focus of my blog; instead of the American experience abroad, it tells of the foreigners' experience of America, a country they alternately idealize and disparage.  As the story progresses, they shift from fully denigrating their homeland of Cameroon to slowly coming to appreciate their families, their history, their culture, and their way of life.  It is a classic tale of "all that glitters is not gold" and a deconstructing of the notion that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."  Throughout, the characters ... Jende and Neni from Cameroon, Clark and Cindy who employ them in the United States, and a cast of immigrant characters from many places around the world ... are thoroughly delightful, earnest, and funny.  

Having the unexpected luck of receiving a visitor's visa to the United States, Jende comes first to seek his fortune, moves into a group home with other immigrants, and immediately overstays so he can earn and save enough to bring his family.  Two years later, his wife Neni and their little boy arrive.  Enamored with New York City and all of its promises, they dream of beating the immigration authorities at their own game and finding a way to stay permanently.  When Jende lands a job as a chauffeur for a Clark Edwards, a Wall Street executive, it seems their dreams will come true.  The Edwards family seems to have it all ... money, education, prestige, glamour, a beautiful home, an active social life, and two children.  In stark contrast, Jende and Neni have so little ... a tiny, one bedroom, cockroach infested apartment in a dangerous neighborhood; long hours in their workdays; constant financial worries: and no sense of security or permanent.  But as Jende and Neni become involved and entangled with the Edwards's personal lives, they realize that beneath the glittering facade lies much pain, disappointment, and sadness. 

This serves as a clear metaphor for perceptions of the United States and its proverbial streets paved with gold that are really substandard housing, low pay, heartbreaking sacrifice, and oftentimes, little reward for those who come in search of a better life.  Yet, the dream still exists, and those who are willing to work hard are often lucky enough to find a leg up to opportunity.  Jende and Neni are very willing, but their luck runs out when the recession hits and Jende is faced with a decision for which there no good outcome.  Throughout the story, Mbue weaves a critique of how we treat immigrants in this country and of how much we, as Americans, take for granted about our lives of good fortune.  Jende and Neni learn that there is more to life than what they ultimately find in the United States.  

Cameroon looms large in the story, almost functioning as a character by informing who Jende and Neni are, what they seek, and where they eventually land both physically and morally.  Although very little of the plot takes place in Cameroon, I finished the book feeling that I had at least a little sense of who Cameroon may be.  Just as in the United States ... and any other country in the world ... there is positive and negative, something to be despised and much to be cherished.