Americanah

Books | Fiction / African American & Black / Women

4.1

(4.2K)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

WINNER 2013 – National Book Critics Circle Award for FictionFINALIST 2014 – Baileys Women’s Prize for FictionFINALIST 2014 – Andrew Carnegie Medal for FictionLONGLISTED 2015 – International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award A searing new novel, at once sweeping and intimate, by the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun: a story of love and race centered around a man and woman from Nigeria who seemed destined to be together--until the choices they are forced to make tear them apart. Ifemelu--beautiful, self-assured--left Nigeria 15 years ago, and now studies in Princeton as a Graduate Fellow. She seems to have fulfilled every immigrant's dream: Ivy League education; success as a writer of a wildly popular political blog; money for the things she needs. But what came before is more like a nightmare: wrenching departure from family; humiliating jobs under a false name. She feels for the first time the weight of something she didn't think about back home: race.Obinze--handsome and kind-hearted--was Ifemelu's teenage love; he'd hoped to join her in America, but post 9/11 America wouldn't let him in. Obinze's journey leads him to back alleys of illegal employment in London; to a fake marriage for the sake of a work card, and finally, to a set of handcuffs as he is exposed and deported. Years later, when they reunite in Nigeria, neither is the same person who left home. Obinze is the kind of successful "Big Man" he'd scorned in his youth, and Ifemelu has become an "Americanah"--a different version of her former self, one with a new accent and attitude. As they revisit their shared passion--for their homeland and for each other--they must face the largest challenges of their lives. Spanning three continents, entering the lives of a richly drawn cast of characters across numerous divides, Americanah is a riveting story of love and expectation set in today's globalized world.

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Author

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Pages

272

Publisher

Knopf Canada

Published Date

2013-05-14

ISBN

0345807464 9780345807465

Ratings

Google: 3

Community ReviewsSee all

"This was a 5 star for me for the first 2/3 of the book.... It was still a 4.5 for the remainder. I highly recommend it. I truly enjoyed the perspective of America and its people by a Nigerian (the main character)"

J w

Jfly winslow

"I have read some of Adiche’s nonfiction, but I really enjoyed this. Cried at the ending. I loved Ifemelu and Obinze so much, both as a unit and separately. Top book of 2024 for sure. I only wish I’d read it sooner"

Mary Long

"⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ fictional story that brings an interesting pov about what being black in America as a non-American Black. ifemelu’s story was captivating and i appreciated the love story that carried through. i definitely felt like adichie introduced too many new characters though , especially in the second half of the book. i wish she just focused on the main characters’ character development. "

Olivia Sun

"From one of the world’s great contemporary writers comes the story of two Nigerians making their way in the U.S. and the UK, raising universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for identity and a home."

Barack Obama

"I loved this book so much, I read it all in one day. I was seriously upset when I had to put it down and do something else."

Tiffani Reeves Keaton

"Cultural and captivating "

Olivia Catherine

"I really loved this book! For me, it was a glimpse into many different lives and cultures, that i just found fascinating. The two main characters are Nigerian and one travels to the USA and the other to the UK during young adulthood to try to further their academics and careers after their universities get shut down. They both experience many cultural and some legal difficulties and setbacks. Parts of the book are hilarious. Other parts are sad and disturbing as they come into contact with racist and cultural beliefs in their new homes. They both experience another period of cultural shock and readjustment when they return to Nigerian culture after being away for so long. This book examines race, gender, country, class, culture, ethnicity, and history and how they all shift and intertwine with each other over time."

R T

Rebekah Travis

"Eye opening, compelling, unforgettable. I loved this one!"

Shonna Hill

"I enjoyed this book."

M D

Melinda Douglas

"I really liked this book, but Infemelu was just such an annoying character. She went through this novel just using the men in her life always comparing them to Obinze. The only people she seemed to actually care about were Uju and Dike. Her blog was entertaining and spot on though."

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