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lynecia's review against another edition
4.0
What can I say?
Chimamanda is magnificent. I enjoyed Americanah's wit and sharp, spot-on observations on race and culture, society and love. It's a cultural critique, coming-of-age, and love story all in one. I read each sentence intentionally and with deep consideration; the eloquent and masterful way she weaves words is entirely delicious:
"She woke up torpid each morning, slowed by sadness, frightened by the endless stretch of day that lay ahead. Everything had thickened. She was swallowed, lost in a viscous haze, shrouded in a soup of nothingness." (P. 158)
I love her adoration of language: of both English and Igbo-- she incorporates a lot of Igbo words and phrases, no footnotes or glossary, so if you don't know the language (I don't) you have to catch the context or google the meanings. I didn't mind them, I just kept it moving.
Stray thoughts and observations: (spoilers ahead, tread carefully)
1. Though her observations through the character of Ifemelu vis-a-vis her blog were witty, it sometimes came off a bit snarky and mocking
2. I think it just took too long for Ifemulu and Obinze to reunite! It felt like there was a point where the story meandered on and on, especially on Ifemulu's life in America. Which leads me to my 3rd point...
3. There wasn't enough of Obinze for me! I wanted to know a little bit more detail. I felt like his storyline was condensed a lot.
Chimamanda is magnificent. I enjoyed Americanah's wit and sharp, spot-on observations on race and culture, society and love. It's a cultural critique, coming-of-age, and love story all in one. I read each sentence intentionally and with deep consideration; the eloquent and masterful way she weaves words is entirely delicious:
"She woke up torpid each morning, slowed by sadness, frightened by the endless stretch of day that lay ahead. Everything had thickened. She was swallowed, lost in a viscous haze, shrouded in a soup of nothingness." (P. 158)
I love her adoration of language: of both English and Igbo-- she incorporates a lot of Igbo words and phrases, no footnotes or glossary, so if you don't know the language (I don't) you have to catch the context or google the meanings. I didn't mind them, I just kept it moving.
Stray thoughts and observations: (spoilers ahead, tread carefully)
1. Though her observations through the character of Ifemelu vis-a-vis her blog were witty, it sometimes came off a bit snarky and mocking
2. I think it just took too long for Ifemulu and Obinze to reunite! It felt like there was a point where the story meandered on and on, especially on Ifemulu's life in America. Which leads me to my 3rd point...
3. There wasn't enough of Obinze for me! I wanted to know a little bit more detail. I felt like his storyline was condensed a lot.
kdawn999's review against another edition
4.0
International migration from the “3rd world,” identity crisis, culture shock, copious literary references—you can bet I’ll line up for this kind of story. I was invested the whole way through, even when the main characters made life-altering mistakes. I liked the choppy, time-jumping narrative for how it held a few twists and secrets. I even liked the Sex and the City styled blog posts that pop up frequently to preach about racism and racial perception in the US. For all that I liked this book, though, I wasn’t satisfied with the ending—too easy. I wish the story kept going on into the middle age of these characters to see how many of their ideals and loves endure. I also wish I’d been given more details of the political backdrop in the Nigeria scenes, but I get that the book needn’t center on an American audience.
tashaseegmiller's review against another edition
5.0
Stunning. I really didn't know what to expect and the structure, method of storytelling, character development, richness of setting have left me stunned, still thinking about it.
Bottom line I think every single person on the planet needs to read this.
Bottom line I think every single person on the planet needs to read this.
discoinferno's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-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
4.5
vgomezmunoz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
ingread27's review against another edition
5.0
A must read. This novel is just so rich, beautiful, touching, informative, challenging and so, so worth it.
bowa_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
istaisa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
eren2003jaeger's review against another edition
4.0
The only reason why this book does not get 5 stars is because I didn’t like the main characters as people, which I think is a great testament to Ndozi’s writing that Obinze and Ifemelu felt like real people. The pacing and format of the story was an interesting experience, it was seamless the way the readers were shifted between past and present.
Ifem’s experiences of race, love and friendship in America and her experiences and memories of Nigeria were fascinating, as Ifem often had a very nuanced and often contradictory viewpoint on all things (it was cool that she was aware of how contradictory she was, made her feel more human).
All in all, it was a very human book. There is no grand message, no really good people, no hero or solution to Ifem’s chronic restlessness and self-destructiveness. Life was just life and Ifem was simply living it. It was a nice read.
Other thoughts: I don’t rate Obinze because he’s a cheating coward, I don’t care about his circumstances. He’s too soft for my liking and too self-important in his views. I actively dislike Blaine. He’s one of those overly humble but extremely arrogant dickheads who thinks their very unequivocal view on the world is undoubtably superior, despite ignoring nuance and conversation. Curt is alright, but I think he has a slight WOC/black woman fetish.
Ifem’s experiences of race, love and friendship in America and her experiences and memories of Nigeria were fascinating, as Ifem often had a very nuanced and often contradictory viewpoint on all things (it was cool that she was aware of how contradictory she was, made her feel more human).
All in all, it was a very human book. There is no grand message, no really good people, no hero or solution to Ifem’s chronic restlessness and self-destructiveness. Life was just life and Ifem was simply living it. It was a nice read.
Other thoughts: I don’t rate Obinze because he’s a cheating coward, I don’t care about his circumstances. He’s too soft for my liking and too self-important in his views. I actively dislike Blaine. He’s one of those overly humble but extremely arrogant dickheads who thinks their very unequivocal view on the world is undoubtably superior, despite ignoring nuance and conversation. Curt is alright, but I think he has a slight WOC/black woman fetish.