Reviews

Part love story, part reflection on race and experiences of migration, this novel drew me in and still has me thinking about it. Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love. Their homeland of Nigeria is under military rule and, separately, they depart for greater opportunities in the West. Ifemelu heads to America where, for the first time, race becomes an issue:

‘I came from a country where race was not an issue; I did not think of myself as black and I only became black when I came to America.’

America is no paradise for Ifemelu. Not only does she have to deal with race, despite her qualifications she finds it difficult to get work. Ifemelu makes choices, one of which leads to her losing contact with Obinze.

Obinze had hoped to join Ifemelu in America, but after September 11, he is unable to enter. Instead, Obinze heads to London where his undocumented status leads him into danger and sees him exploited before being deported back to Nigeria.

See how wonderful life is in the West, former colonising countries say to those who are or were colonised, but you cannot be permitted to access this wonder unless you are very, very lucky.

And while Obinze navigates danger, Ifemelu establishes a blog called ‘Raceteenth or Various Observations about American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black’. Ifemelu’s blog is popular and successful, but eventually she decides to close it down, sell her home and return to Nigeria.

Obinze has become successful in Nigeria. He has married and has a daughter. He and Ifemelu reconnect. Has the love they felt for each other endured? What does the future hold? And what about race?

‘They tell us race is an invention, that there is more genetic variation between two black people than there is between a black person and a white person. Then they tell us black people have a worse kind of breast cancer and get more fibroids. And white people get cystic fibrosis and osteoporosis. So what’s the deal, doctors in the house? Is race an invention or not?’

As the novel progressed, the love story became secondary for me. I became more focussed on racial discrimination, on the impacts of colonisation, on leaving home and never really being able to return.

A thought-provoking read.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

rereader33's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm going to be completely honest: I didn't like this book. Despite that, I don't have a lot I want to say about it, mostly because reading this was a slog and I just want this to be over. So, here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

1. The writing was very good, especially with dialogue and group gatherings. Adichie did a fantastic job capturing everyone's emotions and emotional responses during a gathering (which is important since there were a fuck-ton of them) and it made me feel like I was there. The dialogue was incredibly well-written and was often the most entertaining part of the story.

2. Adichie did a phenomenal job with capturing the immigrant experience, racism, and the struggles with returning home after living in America.

Cons:

1. I did not like a single character in this book. Seriously. They were either obnoxious, boring, or fucking atrocious. Ifem was incredibly judgmental and Obinze was uninteresting and I could not have given two fucks about their romance.

2. The pacing was all over the place. Considering this is taking place in two different timelines, Adichie did not attempt to separate them and instead jumped from past to present whenever she damn well pleased. Seriously, the first chapter or two takes place in the present, than the next SEVERAL chapters take place in the past, then we get a chapter in the present, oops but we're back in the past now, and can you imagine why this back and forth would have made me just the slightest bit EXCEEDINGLY INFURIATED??

This is a good book and I do recommend it, I just personally didn't enjoy it. That's all, have a nice day.

bkwacisz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

duhig002's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kelllita's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

trizie81's review against another edition

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5.0

A great contemporary novel! I liked the perspective this book gives me, it lets you in a bit on nigerian culture and struggles living in a different country far away from home. It takes on a lot of problems and overall there is a beautiful love story. Im looking forward to reading other books by this author.

klparmley's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this all the way to the end and, then, I wanted to scream. I hate it when books just stop.

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