Image taken by me and edited with canva
Have you ever read a book and you feel like it was written about you? That was the way I felt when I read Chimamanda Adichie's third novel - AMERICANAH.
I had always heard of Chimamanda Adichie but never taken the time to read any of her books until I watched her TED talk on "The Dangers Of A Single Story". I became besotted with her style of writing. I visited a local bookstore and picked up her book, Half Of A Yellow Sun, maybe because the story was built around the Nigerian Civil War, politics and how it affected citizens during that period. I also watched the movie and felt fulfilled!
Upon the publication and release of Americanah in 2013, I was excited, rushed to the local bookstore with my Dad since he too wanted to buy a book. I remember him asking what the book was all about and I responded that the author is Nigerian, a superb writer and I was sure the book would be amazing. It turned out so.
Having not stepped outside the shores of Nigeria, I'd always wondered how Nigerians who traveled overseas fared especially with respect to differences in culture, language and lifestyle in other countries. In this book, the author whetted my appetite with a load of details as to what to expect and how some of these differences in lifestyle positively and negatively influenced Nigerians.
Americanah tells the story of Ifemelu and Obinze romantically involved in secondary (high) school but upon graduation, they broke up and went their separate ways. Years later after some hard choices and life experiences, they found their way back to each other despite the obstacles on their path.
I like Ifemelu's character because she's calm, empathic with an independent mind. Rather than live a mediocre life, she chose to be different and pursued the things she wanted vigorously, not disturbed by what society may say. Though I wished she made a different choice at the end regarding her relationship with Obinze. It's one that bothers on morality but then, everyone's perception of morality cannot be the same. This kind of brings to mind Selena Gomez's song, the Heart Wants What It Wants.
The author takes us on a smooth ride from the shores of Nigeria to the United Kingdom, to the United States and back to Nigeria. As I devoured the book, my perception of the world changed as the author explored issues of feminism, race, love, relationships, cultural interactions and differences in this book.
A particularly intriguing part of the book is the remarkable difference between Africans and African-Americans. Though some people may believe we are alike. I also liked how this book delved into emotional issues like conflicts in bi-racial relationships.
I cannot imagine the time and efforts put into the writing of this book and I commend the author for a job very well done. I got to know that the book was to be made into a TV series but was scrapped due to the covid-19 pandemic.
I rate this book a B plus and I know fiction readers will love it. Have you read the book? Let me know your thoughts on it. Thank you for visiting my blog.