A review by mitskacir
Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

3.0

Usually I'm such a fan of Adichie, even her short stories, because she so quickly and fully engages us with the characters. However, these "Notes" were so brief that I think even she wasn't able to fully flesh out her characters. There were certainly moments where I felt like I really knew the people in her life, for example in her story of her dad feeling like he was lied to at his surprise party, but most of the time we are in Adichie's head. When in her head, she mostly reiterates that she is sad, which of course is understandable, but not particularly interesting. Certainly not my favorite Adichie read, nor the most moving meditation on the death of a loved one I have read (I couldn't help comparing it to [b:Crying in H Mart|54814676|Crying in H Mart|Michelle Zauner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601937850l/54814676._SX50_.jpg|68668937]). I think I would have enjoyed it more if it focused more on her father and her memories of him, since those parts were the most engaging, and you could see her love for him more in her characterization of him than in her descriptions of her grief.