Book Review : Americanah

Book Title : Americanah

Author : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

ISBN : 9780345807465

Publisher : Alfred A. Knopf

Genre : General Fiction 

Publication : 2013

Pages : 477

Binding : Kindle Edition

Plot:

Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world.

As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are leaving the country if they can. Ifemelu - beautiful, self-assured - departs for America to study. She suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships and friendships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze - the quiet, thoughtful son of a professor - had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. 

Years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America. But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion - for their homeland and for each other - they will face the toughest decisions of their lives. 

Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's most powerful and astonishing novel yet.

Rating: 4 ☆'s

Review:

I read this book as a part of a read-along with my girls over at the 'Booktroverts' and all of us had fun reading it, sharing our excitement, experiences and disappointments.

Moving on to the review...

Some books, you read just because you want to get them out of the way, or tick of your list, and then some because they have some stellar reviews, some just because you have fallen in love with the story over the years and some books, after you have read them, stay with you for a very long time. Americanah is one of those books, that is going to stay with me for a long time.

I have read The Purple Hibiscus, but I think, when I read it, I wasn't old enough or mature enough to appreciate either the writing or the author. But Adichie, has a powerful writing style - the writing not only flows easily, it also grips you and makes you fall in love with the characters.

America, is the great dream for very many nationalities. But what people fail to understand is that behind that golden curtain, it ain't as sparkly. In this powerful novel, through the protagonist Ifemelu, the author has brought to the fore, very skewed scenario that the blacks face in this great golden dream of a country.

In blog posts laced with sarcasm and personal experiences, the protagonist Ifemelu brings out the various issues and intricacies of the races in America and compares it beautifully to being a black in Nigeria. Issues with regards to immigrations are also discussed. While the other protagonist Obinze, brings out the differences between the attitudes of the whites in US and UK towards the blacks. And together, they burst this dream bubble called America.

Moving over to a lighter note, good thing was that, Ifemelu was the main lead because truthfully, the parts that talked about Obinze's life weren't as captivating. Fun Fact here - Obinze's mom, on the other hand is a total sweetheart. Anyway, the reason for me taking away that teeny-tiny star away from my rating was because the book, as powerful as it was, had a very sappy downplayed end. What I am trying to say is that, for such a powerful book, the end was a disappointment - it wasn't as power packed.

A fast paced read, that is filled with funny anecdotes as well as serious issues dealing with depression and suicides and there is a love-story that binds it all together. So you might be happy or sad reading it, but you will always be interested in reading on.

The book is highly recommended.

So go pick up your copy and Happy Reading!