They Dream in Gold

By: Diabou Mai Sennaar

Length: 12 hrs

Publisher's summary

'A mouth-watering delight . . . subtle yet striking' - Sarah Jessica Parker

'One of the most beautiful debuts I’ve ever read — musical, magical, and full of tenderness' - Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

TWO DREAMERS. ONE LOVE STORY. A WORLD OF SOUND.

Bonnie and Mansour are meant to be: two children abandoned by their mothers from opposite sides of the Black Atlantic, who find each other in New York in 1968 and set about making music that will change the world.

Mansour’s sound is unique: a fusion of Senegalese prayer songs, and the wild beats of East Coast American jazz. His voice soars and lifts, carrying away the hearts of all who hear him; carrying away Bonnie, a lost American girl with her own troubled past.

As they travel together from New York to Paris, to Rio and Switzerland, Mansour’s music forges connections and breaks new ground. Soon it seems as though fame and unimaginable riches are only a heartbeat away.

But suddenly Mansour is missing. And Bonnie, pregnant with his child, sets out to find him. Her journey and their story will take the reader across the globe and into a world of sound, as we chart the rocky course that led to their stars colliding.

©2024 Diabou Mai Sennaar (P)2024 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

They Dream in Gold sends us on a journey around the world with a remarkable cast of women in search of belonging and the realization of their dreams. Sennaar tells their story with a musician’s ear for rhythm and subtlety, and indeed, music and love beat strong in the heart of this powerful debut. I would follow these characters anywhere. (Laura Warrell, author of Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm)

A symphonic feat of wisdom and breathtaking verve, They Dream in Gold is a revelation of a novel that readers won't soon forget. Spanning continents and decades of sociopolitical changes, this wholly original, whirlwind story deftly illuminates the tensions of art and humanity with fresh language and vivid characters. Mai Sennaar is a rare, daring talent who wrings emotion and beauty from each page, each word, and leaves you thirsting for more still (Thao Thai, author of Banyan Moon)

Exquisitely written, They Dream in Gold is an epic and hauntingly-beautiful story, each page shimmering like gold, woven by Mai Sennaar’s astounding talent as a debut author whose work I look forward to reading during the years to come. (Nguyn Phan Que Mai, internationally best-selling author of The Mountains Sing)