Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an immensely talented author who has received plenty of praise here on The Steady Read. She has a knack for slow and compelling narratives, and I assume Americanah will be full of the same slow-paced quality that appears in all her other works.
The story follows Ifemelu and Obinze, two teenage Nigerian students who fall in love, until Ifemelu has to migrate to the United States due to the militaristic leadership of Nigeria. From there, she is exposed to racism, a huge culture divide, and ultimately has to tackle with the reality of social division around the turn of the century.
Obinze, hoping to join her, has his visa denied following the 9/11 attacks, has to relocate to London. Years later, Ifemelu has found success living in the United States, whilst her lost lover from Lagos has returned to his home country and struck into a life of wealth as a property developer.
These sorts of narratives are what I adore from Adichie, blending a combination of racial, political, and economic issues into a coherent plot. Unlike many authors, Adichie’s portrayal of racism and similar issues never feels patronising, victimised, or exaggerated — they feel perfectly tangible, logical, and sincere in their representation of what people of African origin face. Half of a Yellow Sun was a good example of inverting this, through having a white man be continually disrespected or overlooked when living in Nigeria, showing that Adichie has no racial agenda to push.
Americanah is currently eyeing me from my bookshelf, and I am all too aware that the only reason I have not started reading it is because of its fairly imposing length of 480 pages. But I hope some of you will definitely look into it, because I intend to get through every page of it someday.
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