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A realistic account of immigration in the US. This is a novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream told through the eyes of a young g Cameroonian couple making a new life in NYC just as the Great Recession upends the economy.
Jende Jonna, Neni, .. ( )

Book on CD performed by Prentice Onayemi

Mbue explores the “American Dream” through an immigrant family’s experiences. Jende Jonga comes from Cameroon with his wife, Neni, and his young son. His hope is to provide for his family, to allow his wife to finish school to become a pharmacist, and to give his son the advantages that are not available in their hometown of Limbe, Cameroon. It is 2007, and Jenda has been blessed to land a job as a chauffeur to Clark Edwards, a rising star at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands promptness, professionalism and discretion, and Jende is up to the task. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even employs Neni at their summer home in the Hamptons. So, they are well on their way to the American Dream, saving money, learning the ways of America, hoping for a bright future. And then Lehman Brothers collapses, and the Jongas are desperate to keep their hold on the dream.

What a powerful and insightful look at the immigrant experience. I was particularly impressed by Neni and the strength she showed when push came to shove, and her family’s future was at stake. But cultural expectations, even when far from home, are hard to ignore. Her desire to keep her children in America cannot fully and fairly compete with the ingrained behaviors of their homeland.

Mbue gives us complex characters, fully realized, with all their gifts and faults. At times I sympathized even with the “villains” of the story. Mbue made me think about the complexity of immigration policy. In the end, though, my money is on the Jonga family. They are more than dreamers. They are winners.

Prentice Onayemi does a superb job of narrating the audiobook. I was particularly impressed by how he voiced Jende and Neni. ( )

Jende and Neni have immigrated to the United States from Cameroon with their young son. Jende is excited to soon find work as a chauffeur, something he has wanted to do for a long time. Of course, they are also in the US to make a better life for themselves and their son. Jende’s boss, Clark, is a good and generous man, and Jende is a good worker. But things get a little tricky when Jende is asked to do something he really doesn’t think he should. But he doesn’t want to lose his job.

It listened to the audio and it was ok. The narrator did a very good job with accents (at least as far as I could tell). It seems I did miss some of the goings-on in the book, but I’m pretty sure I caught the main things happening. Overall, I’m rating it ok. ( )

The story of two immigrants from Cameroon trying to make it in NYC around the time of the financial collapse.

It's good for me to read things about how difficult everyday life can be for so many people and how lucky we are to live in America despite its flaws. The immigrants are struggling financially and the rich struggle emotionally but all of them struggle. How they react to their problems often surprises and occasionally disappoints.

I want to give this more stars but it was less of a page turner than j want my books to be. I enjoyed it while reading but didn't feel compelled to get back to it quickly when it wasn't in my hands. ( )