Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

10 reviews

maybreads's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Behold the Dreamers is such an interesting novel, especially for people like me for whom the financial crash is a very formative memory but it mainly consists of listening to the radio and everyone talking about how catastrophic it is without understanding it (aka being born 1997-2001). I had to look up Lehman Brothers. 

Behold the Dreamers works very well in utilizing the dramatic irony that the setting of working on Wallstreet (adjacent) in 2007/8 just before a historic irl event creates. It takes these gigantic surroundings and focuses on the life of an immigrant couple whose place is the USA is not secure. They have a narrative foil in the Wallstreet couple which they work for. 
I think Imbolo Mbue does a fantastic job of portraying the American dream, assimilation, money struggles and immigration. The novel also comments a lot on corruption and in my opinion gender roles. My heart broke with the character's whenever they experienced a setback. 

I think the most interesting aspect of the novel was its portrayal of respectability. Who's a respectable man, what is honorable behavior. Who do the characters not respect and why. Who do they claim to respect but their behavior shows differently. Needless to say that as a reader you will not automatically align yourself with the characters here. 
Behold the Dreamers is not a book that you won't be able to put down. Nevertheless it's an enjoyable read that touches on important topics and creates emotional investment in the story. I would even argue that it has a happy ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

mysterymom40's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Classism, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

readbycarina's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Child death, Classism, and Death of parent

rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Drug abuse

Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexism, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Racism, Vomit, Pregnancy, Deportation, Medical content, Grief, and Cursing

Minor: Sexual assault, Car accident, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Cultural appropriation, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Sexual content

sorcha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Addiction, Physical abuse, and Grief

Minor: Deportation, Infidelity, Child death, Alcohol, Vomit, Death of parent, Racism, and Rape

fatkidatheartreads's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

A deep dive into the struggles of immigration. We often look at it through rose colored 'looking for greener pastures' glasses, but Imbolo completely dismantles that notion. I struggled a bit with the pacing of the book, but I am so glad I saw it through! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

ladymirtazapine's review

challenging reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Violence

ifersinklings's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn't know what to expect when I started this book, other than it was about a immigrant family. This book was so much more than just about that, though. It was about family, the allusion of what the American Dream really is, about money and the cost of having wealth. There were so many different lessons in this story that I was surprised were executed so well, but also subtly. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit