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A review by hanfaulder
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
emotional
informative
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
In many ways, I feel that Americancanah is a mirror of Homer's The Oddesy. Not in the literal sense, it is not a mimicry or retelling of the Greek classic; but in that the story of Ifemelu and Obinze starts as a journey of their departure from home, from childhood and an innocent love, as well as their journey back home, back to one anther, only to find themselves changed. The novel depicts an oddesy of the immigrant and black experience. I found that it was insightful, compelling and compassionate - a necessary and powerful read, a modern classic even. Adiche writes about intimacy in a way that is beautiful in its mundanity and common-place: the comparisons of sex with food, or the descriptions of small movements, observations about ones lover, made everything suddenly magical, rendered with colour and spice. The people she wrote about breathed on the page, became a part of me, and I could see through their eyes - understood what they loved about a person, and how at the same time they hated them. She has the same effect while writing about environment, but it was her particularly earnest portrayal of characters and their relationships that has struck me as the most profound and enjoyable to read.
It would be too simplistic, I think, to say that Americancanah is just a love story. Yes, it is ultimately a story about love - but it is not singularly about romantic love. It is also about the love of your home, the love of community. The book is long, and there is an almost malaise feeling halfway through, as you see the years of the protagonists lives melt past, and there is a revolving door of minor characters, names and faces which pass by too quickly for you to remember. However, I was certainly never bored, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Adichie's prose. The length of the story is a part of its art: this is a story about a person's life, and so we endure it alongside them, as they blink and find themselves so far away from where they had started, we too share this feeling. I think it's important to understand this aspect of the book, as it makes all the more clearer Adichie's overarching analysis of the African-black experience of race in the modern West, specifically America, and what this says about the state of racism in the world. I highly recommend this book, as it was a rewarding read.
It would be too simplistic, I think, to say that Americancanah is just a love story. Yes, it is ultimately a story about love - but it is not singularly about romantic love. It is also about the love of your home, the love of community. The book is long, and there is an almost malaise feeling halfway through, as you see the years of the protagonists lives melt past, and there is a revolving door of minor characters, names and faces which pass by too quickly for you to remember. However, I was certainly never bored, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Adichie's prose. The length of the story is a part of its art: this is a story about a person's life, and so we endure it alongside them, as they blink and find themselves so far away from where they had started, we too share this feeling. I think it's important to understand this aspect of the book, as it makes all the more clearer Adichie's overarching analysis of the African-black experience of race in the modern West, specifically America, and what this says about the state of racism in the world. I highly recommend this book, as it was a rewarding read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide attempt