Entertainment, TV, Celebrity, Culture

Follow @2Paragraphs
  • Daily Edition
    • Barack_ObamaBarack Obama Warns Not To Separate Black History, “We’re The Enslaved People”
    • Bernie SandersBernie Sanders Says This “Greedy” Enemy Unites Even Divided Americans
    • Barack_ObamaBarack Obama Links To Tyre Nichols $1 Million Fund, Speaks Out On Tragedy
  • Business
    • Elon_MuskMusk, Tesla Passed Over As Netflix EV of Choice, GM Steps Up Streamer Profile
    • Ph.D. student Omar Samara of UC Davis with an agrivoltaic farmAgrivoltaic Farming Trend Surges, Success Stories Around The Globe
    • Dwayne_Johnson by Eva Rinaldi [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia CommonsDwayne Johnson Knocks On His Wooden Head After $100 Million Annual Sales
  • Culture
    • Elizabeth banksElizabeth Banks Jumps Off Cliff in Strapless Bikini, ‘Cocaine Bear’ Exclusive BTS
    • Madelyn Cline, Outer Banks, photo: Curtis Baker/NetflixMadelyn Cline Poses Topless In Sheer Hosiery, “Undeniable Force of Nature”
    • Serena Williams 2020 US OpenSerena Williams Finally Speaks On Will Smith: “I’ve Been There”
  • Sports
    • JJ Watt by Jeffrey Beall [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsJJ Watt Trolls Tom Brady On NFL Retirement, How To Spend His Money
    • Kyrie_IrvingKyrie Irving Says He Still Believes, But “We Can’t Just Be One Of Those Teams”
    • Tom_BradyTom Brady Plans To Torment Haters By Never Going Away
  • Food
    • Jennifer GarnerJennifer Garner Reveals Her Favorite ‘Dry January’ Treat at Home
    • Dark ChocolateAre Dark Chocolate Fears Overblown? Cadmium, California, and “Ouch, Ouch” Disease
    • Wendy's restaurantWendy’s New Riddle Stumps Social Media — “Chili in Philly?”
  • Interviews
    • Cranberries_in_a_bucketDo Cranberries Really Help UTI? A Doctor Answers With New Evidence
    • Lauren Lovett The Speech Ring InventorVideo: The Speech Ring Inventor on Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking
    • Surge first out gay superhero in the moviesFirst Out Gay Movie Superhero Surge Speaks on Humor, Responsibility
  • Cool Stuff
    • Ice-T on LAW & ORDER: SVU (Virginia Sherwood/NBC)Ice-T’s Wife Flaunts Brand New Range Rover With Front Seat Refrigerator
    • Bergdorf Goodman 5th Avenue store in NYCChristian Louboutin Reveals 3.5″ Spring Mules With ‘Vibrant Red’ Nail Polish
    • Cardi_BCardi B Says She Hit Jackpot With $30,000 Chanel Slot Machine Bag
  • People
    • Bradley_Cooper,Bradley Cooper’s Net Worth Wealth Soars, $100 Million Plus
    • Barbara CorcoranWho Is Barbara Corcoran’s FBI Agent, Football Star Husband?
    • Israel Del ToroWatch ESPYS Pat Tillman Recipient MSgt. Del Toro Talk About Resilience
  • Contact

Imbolo Mbue, Like Gatsby, Wows Oprah With ‘Behold The Dreamers’

by 2Paragraphs in Books | July 12, 2017

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Linkedin
  • Reddit
  • Email
Oprah_Winfrey_in_Strøget,_Denmark_on_30_September_2009

Oprah Winfrey (photo by Bill Ebbesen via Wikimedia Commons)

Imbolo Mbue‘s debut novel Behold the Dreamers has as long a list of winning editorial blurbs as any book could hope for. And above all this effusive praise from the likes of USA Today and the New York Times are these words from Oprah Winfrey, who made Mbue’s novel a selection for her nonpareil book club: “I love this book because it talks EVERYTHING. Race, class, family love, pursuit of happiness.” Oprah magazine chimes in with a powerful assessment, too, alluding to the great theme of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes: “Behold the Dreamers challenges us all to consider what it takes to make us genuinely content, and how long is too long to live with our dreams deferred.”

[Behold the Dreamers also an Amazon pick]

Another 1920s figure who might come to mind reading Behold the Dreamers is F. Scott Fitzgerald, for both his great Gatsby and Mbue’s Edwards family occupy equally gilded American milieus with dark undersides. Just as Fitzgerald, hailing from Minnesota, was something of an outsider to Eastern aristocracy, so too (and much more so, perhaps) is the Cameroon native Mbue, who with an MA from Columbia University has Ivy League credentials like Fitzgerald’s from his time at Princeton (though he famously never graduated). Mbue’s novel is said to be about the immigrant experience, and it is a version of that of course. But is also, like Gatsby, about money and cultural entrenchment — and the joys and difficulties of love. Reports said Oprah reread Gatsby just before changing her book club to classics in a previous iteration. In Behold the Dreamers she can have a classic and a contemporary novel all at once.

I love this book because it talks EVERYTHING. Race, class, family love, pursuit of happiness. My new book club selection is…#OprahsBookClub pic.twitter.com/vUKpiwJC4R

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) June 26, 2017

[amazon asin=B0138OAB80&template=book-link]

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Linkedin
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • Recent
  • Trending
  • Popular
  • [amazon asin=B0761189JD&template=book-thumbnail-sidebar]

  • [amazon asin=B00OV9D9PY&template=book-thumbnail-sidebar]

  • [amazon asin=B077934D1D&template=book-thumbnail-sidebar]

  • [amazon asin=B074ZM8KFK&template=book-thumbnail-sidebar]

  • [amazon asin=B074J6F41V&template=book-thumbnail-sidebar]

2paragraphs on APPLE NEWS | 2paragraphs Amazon Shop | SEE MORE 2paragraphs ARTICLES
  • About 2paragraphs
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Dedication
  • Map
  • Fresh
  • Law
  • How-To
  • Personal
  • Books

© 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC

  • Buffer
  • Diggit
  • Email
  • More
  • Facebook
  • Flattr
  • Google+
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Stumble
  • tumblr
  • Twitter
  • VK
  • WhatsApp
  • Yummly
  • Xing