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Imbolo Mbue

Author of Behold the Dreamers

3+ Works 2,560 Members 128 Reviews

About the Author

Imbolo Mbue was born in Limbe, Cameroon in 1982. She has been a resident in the U.S. for more than 10 years. She earned her B.S. from Rutgers University and an M.A. from Columbia University. She won the PEN/Faulkner Award for her novel Behold the Dreamers in 2017 which was also chosen by Oprah show more Winfrey to be in her book club. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Imole Mbue, Mbue Imbolo

Works by Imbolo Mbue

Behold the Dreamers (2016) 1,945 copies
How Beautiful We Were (2020) 614 copies
Ovde dolaze sanjari (2016) 1 copy

Associated Works

Tagged

2016 (14) 2017 (10) 2018 (15) 2020 (12) 2021 (10) adult fiction (11) Africa (86) American Dream (16) ARC (11) audio (14) audiobook (17) book club (12) Cameroon (87) contemporary (15) contemporary fiction (22) ebook (23) environment (11) family (34) fiction (231) financial crisis (8) goodreads (13) historical fiction (10) immigrants (61) immigration (51) Kindle (21) literary fiction (16) literature (8) marriage (13) New York (25) New York City (44) novel (31) Oprah's Book Club (9) owned (9) read (19) read in 2017 (11) recession (15) signed (10) to-read (400) unread (12) USA (11)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

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.… (more)
 
Flagged
hmonkeyreads | 100 other reviews | Jan 25, 2024 |
Read this for my book club.

Plot and writing was good. My only minor complaints:

Some of the main characters were a bit too stereotypical. (Terrible relationship between all the Clarks - a privileged family - what else is new.) I would have preferred to hear either a lot more about the Wall Street issues or a lot less. The tiny bits were unsatisfying. Would've liked more about the lawyers - their points of view - cynical? idealistic? realistic? and maybe even the judges, too.

Even though the book was good, I'm giving it a 3 because it just doesn't excite me: I don't feel better for having read it, I'd rather be reading others books, and I don't believe I'll ever find myself talking about it, recommending it to a friend, etc.… (more)
 
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donwon | 100 other reviews | Jan 22, 2024 |
“We should have known the end was near,” the story begins. “When the sky began to pour acid and rivers began to turn green, we should have known our land would soon be dead.”

How Beautiful We Were takes place in a fictional African country, but the story bears a close resemblance to some very similar problems in real life. The book explores topics, such as imperialism, political corruption, environmental destruction, acts of rebellion, and courage.

Imbolo Mbue is a highly talented writer. Considering the topic, the book is sobering and difficult to read, yet she writes it so beautifully. I’m officially a fan of Imbolo Mbue!

… (more)
 
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nadia.masood | 26 other reviews | Dec 10, 2023 |
There's something really genuine about this story. These are just people trying to get through life. And while a larger commentary (or question) is there, it's not forced upon their lives, nor are they forced to embody it. The author's compassion for each character also stands out. All in all, promising, and I look forward to her next work.
 
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Kiramke | 100 other reviews | Jun 27, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
3
Also by
1
Members
2,560
Popularity
#10,034
Rating
3.9
Reviews
128
ISBNs
65
Languages
8

Charts & Graphs