Review: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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kitfox32
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Review: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Post by kitfox32 »

I found this book at once engaging and slow going, putting it down to pick up others several times before finishing it. This is partly because, at nearly 600 pages, Americanah is quite a long haul, and partly because the plot is the novel's weakest point. To some extent, this is by design; the novel is essentially the detailed story of the young adulthoods of two Nigerian students, Ifemelu and Obinze. The two meet in school, fall in love, and attend university together, before the vicissitudes of the American visa application process separate them, with Ifemelu attending school in Philadelphia while Obinze remains in Nigeria. A singular trauma in the U.S. causes Ifemelu to cut off contact until she returns to Nigeria nearly 15 years later.
As a realistic litfic novel that details the lives of ordinary people, this is a wonderful book. The writing is well-crafted, the characters interesting, and the stories compelling. However, the novel is missing a spark of something--what my creative writing teacher would call the "So-what." The commentaries on race, immigration, and society in the US, the UK, and Nigeria, are well-observed and trenchant, but one wonders whether these analyses might not be better served as part of a sociological blog, like the one Ifemelu writes on race relations in the novel. Ifemelu's trauma would be significant in real life, but as an inciting incident for the major dramatic conflict of the novel, it is not given its due in the book. Perhaps the author, like Ifemelu herself, is unsure whether it warrants Ifemelu's response; I think it should, but for that response to be convincing, the author needs to be convinced of its merit herself.
This is an important and a beautiful book, well worth reading, but if you're looking for drama or even a plot that pulls you in, this isn't the book for you.
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suzanneseidel
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Post by suzanneseidel »

Over a year later, I have to say - Well said! I loved it for the observations on race and I loved Ifemelu and I loved the writing (the things you mentioned - characterization, dialogue, etc.) but it did feel a little long and I think you hit the nail on the head with why. It's a slow meandering story that I enjoyed but I did feel the length. Especially when we were reading from Obinze's point of view.
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Vivian Paschal
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Post by Vivian Paschal »

I never completely read the book. You're right; it was lengthy. I read the beginning up until some time after the trauma. I read the middle, and then I read the end. However, I think the so-what should be a matter of context. It's African literature; it's usual to try to touch every bit. And again, it's Chimamanda. She's a feminist and, one who very much likes to fight the system. These analyses, and the messages inherent in them, are her reason for telling the story; the major objective. If there's one thing you must take away from any of her books, it is the battle she attempts to win in the writing, and not necessarily the story. Yet, while Americanah is a story you'd be happy to listen to a narration of, you may not want to read the entire story yourself. Thanks for sharing!
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