I’ve been thinking about my ancestors lately while listening to the rhetoric on immigration in this Presidential election. Most of our ancestors were immigrants and came to this country to start a new life.
One day I hope to look into my family’s genealogy and track down my roots. I’m sort of a mutt with Irish, English, Scottish and Dutch grandparents, but my maiden name is Sullivan, so I’d start with the Irish part of my roots.
The Sullivans probably came here during or after the Great Famine between 1845-1849 when about two million Irish emigrated with 70 percent of them going to America, 28 percent to Canada and 2 percent to Australia.
When I began reading this amazing book, I thought about my Irish ancestors and how difficult it must have been to leave their country, probably starving from years of famine, cramped onto a freighter or other ill-equipped boat over the Atlantic and then arriving at Ellis Island without money, a job or food. I’ve often wondered what they felt when they passed the Statue of Liberty. Was this country all they hoped it to be? How long did it take them to adjust? Did they ever want to leave?
The author presents us with a present day immigration story. What does it feel like to be an immigrant today? Definitely, some differences from when my ancestors came to America, but that promise of hope for a better life still draws millions of people.
This story begins in Harlem, NY right before the financial crisis of 2007. Jende Jonga and his wife Neni and their six-year-old son, Liomi have moved from Cameroon to find a better life. Jende is trying to get his asylum application approved. Neni is on a student visa, attending college and working. Jende drives a taxi but finds a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards and his family. Edwards is an executive with Lehman Brothers.
The author contrasts the wealth and poverty of the two families and all their strengths and weaknesses beautifully, subtly and with love. Everyone in the story is humanly flawed and very realistic. But to me, it’s the tale of the two women that moved me the most. At times I thought how could they and other times I thought oh no, someone help them. They are two women desperately fighting to keep their lives from spinning out of control. Jende ends up doing what he believes is the best thing for his family and sets his mind to nothing else. Although Neni tries to persuade Jenga repeatedly, she cannot.
My book club really enjoyed reading this book. Jende and Neni have all the hope you’d think an immigrant from an impoverished country would have when coming to America. We rooted for them all the way through the book. You can do it, just keep trying. And we didn’t hate the Edwards family, they had their own troubles.
We talked about how difficult it is to adapt to a new culture.* We also talked about how the characters reacted to different situations and how we thought we’d react. And lastly, we talked about our views on immigration – did they change after reading this book?
The novel is a quick and interesting read for anyone, but a good discussion book for book clubs.
Rating: 8.5
*One of our members heard the author speak at the Morristown Festival of Books on Oct. 1, 2016. Ms. Mbue was on an author panel whose topic was “When Cultures Clash – a Global View of Fiction.” Our member was very impressed with the panel and the discussion. Ms. Mbue was a native of Limbe, Cameroon. She received a BA from Rutgers University and an MFA from Columbia. She currently lives in New York City.
Side note: I thought of “Angela’s Ashes,” by Frank McCourt while reading this book. McCourt’s autobiography is the most poignant novel I have ever read on the immigration struggle. If you haven’t read it, try it and tell me what you think.