Mr. and Mrs. Doctor

Mr. and Mrs. Doctor
Julie Iromuanya
Coffee House Press
Minneapolis, Minnesota
ISBN: 978-1-56689-397-8
2015
$ 16.95
292 pages

"So I must find my way back to my old dreams.  And you must find your way to yours."
We all have dreams and perceptions of who we really are.  If you believe you are someone, does that make you into your own personal perception?   What about reality?   Can you afford to be whomever you decide?
Job Ogbonnaya frequently lives his dreams, then there is reality.   Job is a descendant of an
He came to America at the age of nineteen with dreams of becoming a doctor.  His plan was to become a doctor, arrange to marry a wife from his home village in Nigeria , either have his wife become a nurse or start a family, get wealthy on the American dream sending money home, eventually return to Africa establishing a medical clinic and retiring there.  As simple as that seems, there are many things which can go wrong? 
After all, Job is the son of a chief.  Since the death of his older brother, Job realizes that it is his obligation to fulfill his father's dreams. It might be fate that named him Job.
Mr. and Mrs. Doctor is a unique creation combining dreams into reality and discovering that the two  cannot easily coexist.  Being one person in your daily life, another to your friends, another to those in a far away country and another in reality can be overwhelming, even to the ever patient, Job. 
The problems and challenges of immigration is an underlying motivation throughout this novel.  With bringing up the idea of marrying strictly for citizenship, the continual challenges of the immigrants is shown in a realistic light. 
The prejudices revealed in Mr. and Mrs. Doctor are uncomfortably honest showing racism in many forms.  By having this novel in the genre of African American, it is limiting the scope of the story which should be general fiction.
Mr. and Mrs. Doctor is the debut novel for Julie Iromuanya.  She currently works as an assistant professor at Northeastern Illinois University where she teaches Africana literature and creative writing.  She earned her doctorate from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Mr. and Mrs. Doctor is a well-written tale of an immigrant.  What is refreshing in this novel based in the Omaha, Nebraska area is the honest realism in the character of Job who is attempting to constantly be someone else.  This unique twist is what is special. 
Mr. and Mrs. Doctor surpasses genre limitations and is a brilliant debut novel for author Julie Iromuanya.