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A review by aish_dols
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5.0
"And they themselves mocked Africa, trading stories of absurdity, of stupidity, and they felt safe to mock, because it was mockery born of longing and of the heartbroken desire to see a place made whole again."
Separated by the quest for a better life, teenage lovers, Ifemelu and Obinze deal with conflicting emotions, the shape shifting circumstances of their lives, the long distance, and everything the universe wrapped up to spread out in over a decade to challenge this thing called love but Americanah isn't just a book about love but the nigerian militory dictatorship, racial segregation, race and class, hints of antisemitism, 9/11, immigration, feminism, and so much more. Characters branched from the lives of characters and Chimamanda's effortless artistry engaged me, sucked all the attention needed for me to breathe every word of this book in.
Ifemelu discovered Race in America, the detailed difference from colour to assent to hair. Adichie wrote of how tasking it is to keep up with natural hair in a country where blacks are expected to conform. I was open to the nuances of race, and several types in America. The novel wove stories from three different continents, which is sheer brilliant. Ifemelu was also a race blogger and I enjoyed reading her blog posts, Adichie highlighted the challenges a creative faces like how having an audience can frighten and exhilarate you, sometimes making your quest for knowledge double up, how addictive interaction is but how intimidating too especially if you've an intelligent audience.
Americanah was written back and forth, the pages shifting between Ifemelu and Obinze's past and present until the end. The lovers had several obstacles with Ifemelu diving in and out of relationships, one with her White-American boyfriend & Black-American academic lover but she always didn't 'feel what she wanted to feel' and decided to go back to Nigeria but to whom? To a married Obinze? Who's now a father? Americanah holds complications, turns and just when you think you've reached a cul-de-sac, you see a tunnel. I liked the end because Chimamanda is unpredictable. I didn't know what to expect. Americanah is a masterpiece.
Separated by the quest for a better life, teenage lovers, Ifemelu and Obinze deal with conflicting emotions, the shape shifting circumstances of their lives, the long distance, and everything the universe wrapped up to spread out in over a decade to challenge this thing called love but Americanah isn't just a book about love but the nigerian militory dictatorship, racial segregation, race and class, hints of antisemitism, 9/11, immigration, feminism, and so much more. Characters branched from the lives of characters and Chimamanda's effortless artistry engaged me, sucked all the attention needed for me to breathe every word of this book in.
Ifemelu discovered Race in America, the detailed difference from colour to assent to hair. Adichie wrote of how tasking it is to keep up with natural hair in a country where blacks are expected to conform. I was open to the nuances of race, and several types in America. The novel wove stories from three different continents, which is sheer brilliant. Ifemelu was also a race blogger and I enjoyed reading her blog posts, Adichie highlighted the challenges a creative faces like how having an audience can frighten and exhilarate you, sometimes making your quest for knowledge double up, how addictive interaction is but how intimidating too especially if you've an intelligent audience.
Americanah was written back and forth, the pages shifting between Ifemelu and Obinze's past and present until the end. The lovers had several obstacles with Ifemelu diving in and out of relationships, one with her White-American boyfriend & Black-American academic lover but she always didn't 'feel what she wanted to feel' and decided to go back to Nigeria but to whom? To a married Obinze? Who's now a father? Americanah holds complications, turns and just when you think you've reached a cul-de-sac, you see a tunnel. I liked the end because Chimamanda is unpredictable. I didn't know what to expect. Americanah is a masterpiece.