Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

42 reviews

rafacolog's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity

m4rtt4's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I'm so glad I have finally finished this thick-ass gigantic masterpiece of a book — once again it reminded me why Adichie was, is, and will be one of my favourite authors. So many important things so creatively and credibly — incredibly — told, and as someone who is neither Black or African or American I learned a lot from reading this. I'd like to give an example quote to convince y'all reading my review to find the courage to grab this book, but honestly I'd have to cite every other sentence (and that alone should convince you :)
Yes, it's thick, serious and emotional, BUT every single page is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY (and I'm craving to read so much more).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Racial slurs

jg34's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

There was a lot of little stories within this book and some where interesting but I honestly could have done without obinze’s story line I found them boring, maybe just because I liked ifemelu so much I wanted to get back to her. So because of this it felt long and dragged out at times. A sort of satisfying ending. Really interesting take of American blackness vs non American blackness I learned a lot!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Infidelity

Moderate: Rape and Deportation

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Excrement

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Deportation

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Colonisation, and Classism

alicelalicon's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Racism, Infidelity, Violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: War, Death, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

vas_17's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Deportation, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, and Emotional abuse

kathis_wonderland's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a novel about life in Nigeria, experiencing race and racism in the US and trying to find oneself. Ifemelu and Obinze grew up in Nigeria together but saw no opportunities for themselves in this country. Ifemelu managed to move to the US and had to leave her love Obinze behind. There she experienced race and racism for the first time and had trouble adapting to her new life. After years in America, she moved back to Nigeria and realized how different she had become.

I wanted to read this book for a very long time. And now I am not fully sure what to think about it. In general, I liked the book. It felt very authentic and gave me a new insight into Africans’ experiencing racism in the US and Europe. It really broadened my horizon. The plot was very diverse. We heard about race and racism, about everyday racism, normal life, struggles, love and relationships.
 
However, the story was very long. Some scenes were not interesting at all and seemed to make the story longer. I was very confused at the beginning of the book. The author was jumping around within the plot, talking about the present and then jumping back to the past, writing several chapters about Ifemelu's youth and then suddenly jumping back to the present again. This confused me a lot in the beginning. Therefore, it took me ages to get into the story and to start liking it. I found Ifemelu's actions often questionable. She was cheating on her boyfriends a lot. And if there is one trope I don't like in books, it is cheating!
 
In the end, I started to like the book more and more. We got different perspectives and read about lots of different experiences. The love between Ifemelu and Obinze was really nice. I expected something different from the book, but in the end was pleased. I can recommend it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Deportation, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Classism, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Adult/minor relationship, and Slavery

yourlocalscrivener's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

If you enjoy contemporary literary fiction, this book is for you. Since I'm not a huge fan of literary fiction and began reading this without looking at the Storygraph classification, I believed that this book was heavier on the star-crossed romance than it was. In fact, it's more a novel about Ifemelu's experiences coming to and living in America. I liked Obinze for all except the final chapters, but he's really not a main character in the story. He's more of a side character at best.
Once I readjusted my preconceived notions about the story, I came to enjoy it. It tackles quite a few dark topics besides racism (read trigger warnings). Adichie's writing of the flash backs and flash forwards requires an active reader. Nevertheless, her writing style kept me going even when the story dragged for me in the second half. Also, as other reviewers have noted, the ending is comparatively abrupt to the rest of the story, and... morally questionable.
The book did encourage me to reflect on myself though, in a non-pretentious way.
Overall, it didn't encourage me to seek out more literary fiction, but I'm definitely willing to give Half of a Yellow Sun a go for Adichie's writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Deportation, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

samarakroeger's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hated the ending but loved most of the book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Racism, and Mental illness

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My girlfriend recommended this book, and I'm so glad she did! It definitely deserves its status as a new classic. Ifemelu especially has a wildly impressive and intricate interiority, which is fascinating from a character who’s also often scared of her own interiority. Lots of insight and slow, well-crafted plot. I'm only knocking the half a point because I wanted just a little more conclusion from the ending, with how much of these characters' lives we had seen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Infidelity

Moderate: Sexual violence and Suicide attempt