We had a lot to say about Behold The Dreamers. A basket of questions was passed around, some of which were team questions. Every question that got asked elicited not just a response but a longer discussion of other aspects of the book. There were 17 slips with questions on them but we only got to 6 of them before an hour was up! We talked about the similarities and disparities between the couples in their marriages and their parenting styles and between the two main women. It's the mark of a good writer that Mbue Imbolo could make us understand and even sympathize with the wealthy couple. We talked about what Jende and Neni both went through and were willing to do to stay in the United States. That led to Linda being able to enlighten us on her own experiences working with immigrants.
Quite a few people didn't care for the ending, feeling that there was surely something more that Jende could have done to stay in the U. S. and that he left Neni with no choice despite her willingness to do whatever it took to stay. But it was also noted that in going back, they had changed their lives in Cameroon so much that life there might now be better. Some of us didn't feel it was in character for Neni to do what she did to Cathy, but, again, she was desperate to stay as we saw again and again.
Despite any concerns about flaws of the book, it's safe to say that this is a great book club choice which so much to discuss. And even though it's an Oprah book club selection, there is only the slightest hint of the kind of thing that has steered our book club away from Oprah's choices for years.
