40 Fun Facts About Behold the Dreamers

What job does Jende Jonga land with Wall Street executive Clark Edwards in Behold the Dreamers?

Chauffeur to a senior banker is the break Jende can hardly believe in the fall of 2007, and it gives his family hope of a foothold in America.

Which investment bank, whose 2008 bankruptcy was America's largest ever, employs Clark Edwards in Behold the Dreamers?

Lehman Brothers collapses in September 2008, sending Clark into a tailspin and putting the Jonga family's livelihood at risk.

Which African country do Jende and Neni Jonga leave for New York, then return to, in Behold the Dreamers?

Cameroon is also author Imbolo Mbue's homeland; she was raised in its English-speaking region before moving to the United States to study.

Which celebrity chose Behold the Dreamers for her widely followed book club in June 2017, ten months after publication?

Oprah Winfrey announced the pick in late June 2017, and Mbue has said she was left speechless when the call came.

With what kind of scene does Behold the Dreamers open, as Jende Jonga appears in a carefully chosen suit?

A job interview in Clark Edwards's office opens the book: a blip in a busy day for the banker, and everything for Jende, who arrives with a doctored CV.

Which profession does Neni Jonga dream of entering while studying at a New York college in Behold the Dreamers?

Pharmacist is Neni's goal because of the respect the profession always commanded in her hometown, so she studies chemistry to get there.

Which poet's "Let America Be America Again" gave Imbolo Mbue the idea for the title Behold the Dreamers?

Langston Hughes supplied a line about dreamers that Mbue could not get over, and she decided the characters' dreams were the centre of the story.

Which politician did a Washington Post review headline call the one person who should read Behold the Dreamers now?

Donald Trump was a presidential candidate when critic Ron Charles's review ran in August 2016, three months before the election.

What personal setback during the 2008 financial crisis led Imbolo Mbue to begin writing Behold the Dreamers?

She lost her job, then spent more than a year and a half unemployed, an experience that changed how she saw the promise of America.

In which Upper Manhattan neighborhood do Jende and Neni Jonga rent a small apartment in Behold the Dreamers?

Harlem is home for Jende, Neni and their young son, far uptown from the Edwards family's apartment on the Upper East Side.

Which immigration lawyer invents the persecution story behind Jende Jonga's asylum claim in Behold the Dreamers?

Bubakar runs his practice from Flatbush, Brooklyn, with hundreds of African clients across the country, though Jende's cousin doubts his competence.

What is the name of Jende and Neni Jonga's young son, brought to New York in 2006 in Behold the Dreamers?

Liomi is a sweet, sensitive six-year-old who idolizes his father and does well at school, where his mother presses him hard to succeed.

Where is the Edwards family's summer house, at which Neni takes a temporary job in Behold the Dreamers?

The Hamptons job lasts four weeks one summer, with Neni standing in for the family's regular housekeeper and looking after the younger son.

Where does Clark Edwards slip away for secret hour-long evening appointments as his bank falters in Behold the Dreamers?

Chelsea Hotel visits become routine for Clark after the collapse, until a tie he leaves behind there makes his wife suspicious.

Which country does Vince Edwards move to after rejecting a corporate career in Behold the Dreamers?

India draws Vince in search of truth beyond his parents' materialism, and once there he thinks about opening a retreat centre for executives.

What does Clark Edwards ask Jende Jonga to sign soon after hiring him in Behold the Dreamers?

A confidentiality agreement bars Jende from repeating a word of what he overhears, which later traps him between husband and wife.

In Jende Jonga's false asylum claim in Behold the Dreamers, which relative is supposedly trying to kill him?

His father-in-law is cast as the villain in a tale that Jende concocts with his immigration lawyer, who insists it will win over a judge.

What work does Neni Jonga do to earn money while attending college in Behold the Dreamers?

Home health aide shifts with elderly clients, paid in cash through an agency because she has no green card, bring in money until Jende insists that she stay home.

What legal status allows Neni Jonga to join Jende in New York in Behold the Dreamers?

Student visa status lets Neni arrive legally in 2006 with the couple's son, two years after Jende came on a three-month visitor's permit.

Which cousin of Jende Jonga, a Wall Street lawyer, helps him get his big break in Behold the Dreamers?

Winston put Jende up for a month when he first reached New York, and his recommendation is what gets his cousin through the banker's door.

By what name is the Edwards family's nine-year-old younger son known in Behold the Dreamers?

Mighty, caught between his feuding parents, bonds with Neni and finds the laughter missing from his own home at a farewell dinner in the Jongas' apartment.

Which secretary to Clark Edwards befriends Jende and later struggles to find work in Behold the Dreamers?

Leah, about sixty, cannot land a job after the bank's collapse; Jende pities her, though her old boss insists she will be fine.

What secret task does a suspicious Cindy Edwards give Jende in Behold the Dreamers, after her husband loses a tie?

Logging Clark's movements in a notebook puts Jende in a bind, so he asks his boss, who tells him to comply but leave certain stops out.

After Clark Edwards fires him, which restaurant job does Jende Jonga go back to in Behold the Dreamers?

Dishwasher pay is a small fraction of what the Edwards family paid him, for twice the work, and the grind helps turn Jende against staying.

What does Neni Jonga show Cindy Edwards to extract $10,000 after Jende is fired in Behold the Dreamers?

A compromising photo, taken during Neni's summer job, wins her the cash in a paper bag, and Jende is outraged when she brings it home.

What does Cindy Edwards give Neni in return for keeping a secret during her summer job in Behold the Dreamers?

Her old clothes, plus toys her younger son has outgrown, seal the deal at a poolside breakfast where Cindy admits she came from a poor family.

By what short name do Jende and Neni Jonga call their daughter, born in New York in Behold the Dreamers?

Timba, short for Amatimba, is born in December 2008 and is the only member of the Jonga family who is an American citizen by birth.

Which Greenwich Village pastor does Neni Jonga confide in about her family's troubles in Behold the Dreamers?

Natasha leads Judson Memorial Church and pledges its support, yet Jende is outraged that Neni has told strangers about his immigration case.

What plan does Neni's friend Betty suggest so that Neni can remain in America in Behold the Dreamers?

A green-card marriage to Betty's cousin, an American citizen, would mean divorcing Jende first, and the idea infuriates him.

What kills Cindy Edwards in March 2009, months after her husband's bank fails in Behold the Dreamers?

Drugs and alcohol prove fatal when Cindy, long reliant on wine and painkillers, chokes while passed out; Jende prays for her from the last pew at her funeral.

To which state does Clark Edwards plan to move with his younger son after his wife's death in Behold the Dreamers?

Virginia is where Cindy grew up, and Clark wants family close; he also swaps investment banking for lobbying on behalf of credit unions.

Under which immigration arrangement does Jende Jonga finally leave the United States in Behold the Dreamers?

Voluntary departure means Jende buys his own ticket and tells a judge he will go, after his asylum bid fails and an appeal costs too much.

Which seaside town, hometown of author Imbolo Mbue, do the Jongas come from in Behold the Dreamers?

Limbe, which Mbue recalls for its black sand beaches, is where the Jongas' journey ends: a relative meets them at the airport and takes them home.

Under which working title did Behold the Dreamers sell for a reported seven figures in 2014?

The Longings of Jende Jonga was the name on the manuscript sold just before the 2014 Frankfurt Book Fair; a line of poetry later suggested a new one.

Which honor, called America's largest peer-juried fiction prize, did Behold the Dreamers win in 2017?

PEN/Faulkner Award judges are fellow writers, and the win came for a book its author had written in secret, unread by friends or family.

Which Toni Morrison novel made Behold the Dreamers author Imbolo Mbue want to become a writer?

Song of Solomon caught her eye on a separate shelf at a public library, and reading it set her on the path to writing fiction.

What is Vince Edwards studying at Columbia when he decides to walk away in Behold the Dreamers?

Law at Columbia was meant to lead Vince into a corporate career, but he turns down an internship at an international firm and heads abroad.

Where in Manhattan was Imbolo Mbue walking when a street scene sparked the idea for Behold the Dreamers?

Columbus Circle, outside the Time Warner Center, is where Mbue began to wonder how the lives of waiting workers and wealthy executives intersect.

Which second novel by Imbolo Mbue, about villagers fighting an American oil company, followed Behold the Dreamers?

How Beautiful We Were, published in 2021, is set in a fictional African village and was begun long before her debut reached print.

Which publisher bought Behold the Dreamers in 2014 for a rumored seven-figure sum before the Frankfurt Book Fair?

Random House editor David Ebershoff took North American rights to the manuscript, one of two debuts to draw such sums that week.