Behold the Dreamers

Mbue’s debut novel weaves together the lives of two families living in N.Y.C. during the height of the Wall Street mortgage crisis in late 2008 and early 2009. Reader Onayemi powerfully renders the hopes and dreams of the Jongas—immigrants from Cameroon—and the private pain of the Edwardses—wealthy New Yorkers caught up in the scandal at crumbling financial giant Lehman Brothers. He brings effective nuance to the wide cast of characters of both genders across a broad spectrum of ages, ethnicities, and life circumstances. His reading of Cindy Edwards, who turns to drugs and alcohol as her workaholic husband develops a habit of meeting high-end prostitutes at a Manhattan hotel, is especially haunting. Onayemi’s talent for bringing the complexities of the dialogue to life in audio is on full display. A Random House hardcover. (Oct.)