Behold the Dreamers

Author:

Imbolo Mbue was born in Limbe, Cameroon and attended both Rutgers University and Columbia University. She has written two very well-received novels. Behold the Dreamers was a New York Times bestseller that was selected by Oprah’s Book Club and won the PEN/Faulkner Award. It was also adapted into live shows. Her most recent novel, How Beautiful We Were, was named “One of the 10 Best Books” of 2021. She currently lives in New York City.

Learn More about Imbolo Mbue

Three words to describe this read:

Dynamic- The story and its characters are interesting because of how they change throughout the book. Their experiences changed their goals and in turn, the outcome of their lives. The book wouldn’t have been the same with a stagnant story or characters.

Insightful- Mbue writes about the impact of the housing market crash of 2008. For me, this shed a whole new light on the historical event since I was too young to really understand what was going on when it happened. It showed me how it affected real people and how desperate the situation was.

Unexpected- To say the least, the ending was surprising. I go back and forth with my feelings about it, but somehow it does feel fitting.

Quote:

“It’s the fear that kills us, Leah,” Jende said. “Sometimes it happens and it is not even as bad as the fear. That is what I have learned in this life. It is the fear.”

Looking through the quotes I enjoyed from this book, it was really difficult to decide on my favorite. There were a lot that resonated with me and their topics were all so unique. I chose this one because of how much I agree with it. Fear can hold people back from achieving their goals more than logical issues. Change is scary, actually caring about and trying something new is scary, and failure can be scary, but the truth is that everything works out the way that it is supposed to and it’s really only the fear that is standing in our way. This quote from the book reminded me of another I’ve seen and heard often. Do it scared. It's ok to be afraid, but don't let fear determine your choices.