Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

My rating:

An enthralling, deep and astute account of Nigerian emigration and the pull of the motherland.

Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love as teenagers. As their relationship strengthens, they decide to attend the same Nigerian university, only to find their studies are thwarted by repeat teacher strikes.

When Ifemelu is given a chance to study in America, they agree she must take it, even if it means leaving Obinze to find his way to the US or the UK to pursue his own.

Will their unwavering love survive the forces of distance and time? Will they remain obí ocha or let western living mar their souls and roots?

Unabashed, indignant and dignified, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie makes her case for race-consciousness from treating kinky hair, the meaning of mainstream, the paper-bag test, reverse racism, playing the race card, white privilege, to slavery and much more.

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What really worked well for me is the honesty and frankness of Americanah. The characters are nicely fleshed out, and the excellent writing alternates the author’s with Ifemelu’s blog posts, which spices up the style and rhythm. I also enjoyed the way both US and Nigerian societies are described, highlighting their inherent differences.

In retrospect, this was a great time to read such an important book - a time when society is on the brink of momentous decisions about the place of history in our Western societies. (It’s also a sad sign of the times that when I read the harmless sentence “I can’t breathe”, it rang, with hindsight, ominously.)

Americanah is a poignant novel offering powerful, daring insight on race in the US and a fair look at Nigerian middle-class.

At 477 pages, this book definitely qualifies for my #bigBookSummerChallenge hosted by Sue at Book by Book - hooray, that’s Number One!

A few additional thoughts will follow in a subsequent post.