Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

23 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.75

Having been through several relocations myself as immigrant, expat, repatriated, work visaed, and soon to be overseas retired in multiple countries, so much of this book touches me and speaks to me on multiple levels, including race as a western (American) construct. Some of it is obviously only what I can imagine or empathize with since I’m not Black, but it was illuminating to me in many ways because of that reason too. Brilliant!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Gaslighting, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

theangelssing's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Infidelity

theangelssing's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Self harm, Chronic illness, Racism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexism, and Fatphobia

melist6's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Infidelity, Classism, and Mental illness

Minor: Cultural appropriation

mauricekofi's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

gracej66's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved how openly and directly this book discussed issues of race in America, and also in Nigeria. It was interesting to see the contrast between how race is relevant in both places but in different ways. Adichie’s directness about the subject was refreshing and eye-opening, and put into words many feelings I’m sure many Black people have had but may not have been able to articulate. I also enjoyed seeing how thoroughly Adichie described the experiences of Ifemelu in the U.S. and Obinze in the UK. The carefully chosen anecdotes from their lives abroad gave a strong context for each character when they returned to Nigeria.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt

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

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

laurenzokro's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.0

I will forever be in love with Adichie’s writing style, and this book did nothing but solidify that. She really has such a talent for setting such an authentic tone for daily life + human experiences. It’s rare that I actually envision the conversations characters have in fiction stories happening in real life because of how conveniently it seems to be set up for propelling the story forward, bringing in plot points and characters whose traits similarly contribute to the storytelling, etc. However, with Adichie’s writing, everything feels real - from the tone of dialogue spoken, to the rotating cast of background characters as we see Ifemulu and Obinze’s experiences growing up and living in different areas of the world. Although it was hard to keep track of new characters at times (and those that we were familiar to us could be aggravating at times!), it made the story feel all the more based in reality since this mirrors what many of us go through in living our own lives - having people come and go over the years, facing moments of indecision, periods of crippling emotion, and more.

I do feel that the amount of blank space/“dull moments” (while normal in daily life) was a bit excessive at times, and contributed to some moments of lost momentum in the story that made me enjoy it slightly less at times. This was particularly true during the end -

it feels like we wait ages before Obinze and Ifemulu reconnect again, and the amount of time that it’s covered in spans a very short time period. I understand that the point is to show how fleeting, yet powerful their reunion was, but the limit to which it was covered made all the prior exposition feel like it was setting up for nothing (only for it to seemingly turn around in the very last page of the boom when Obinze turns up at Ifemulu’s again.) I’m definitely not opposed to the concept of Ifemulu and Obinze not being perfect for one another after all, in spite of the passion behind their relationship, but I wish there had been more of a commitment in one direction or the other - rather than having their status flip-flop in the last quarter of the book.

However, I cannot emphasise enough how much I would and will continue to recommend this boom to those I know. Beyond its perfect blend of simply put, yet insightful and intriguing content, I believe the lessons it has to tell are of crucial importance to read about and work to understand. I certainly learned much, and hope that other books can emulate a similar harmony of accessibility and wisdom to impart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness