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The Thing Around Your Neck

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 3,172 ratings · 473 reviews

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the literary scene with her remarkable debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, which critics hailed as “one of the best novels to come out of Africa in years” (Baltimore Sun), with “prose as lush as the Nigerian landscape that it powerfully evokes” (The Boston Globe); The Washington Post called her “the twenty-first-century daughter of Chinua Ache...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published June 16th 2009 by Knopf (first published 2009)

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The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

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Sep 20, 2011 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-stories, read-in-2009

These, by now, are familiar stories of immigrants to America adjusting to a clash of cultures, which exposes faults on both sides and tests relationships. Lahiri springs to mind, Mukherjee, or Le Thi Diem Thuy, but Adichie lacks Lahiri's subtlety and power and the latter's poetic wonder.

The stories set wholly in Africa detailing close scrapes with civil war/unrest in Nigeria, or its prison system or, eg, a queue outside the American embassy in Lagos studiously ignoring the 'soldier flogging a b...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

I can barely begin to explain the catharsis of reading Adichie's prose. In particular, I am captivated by the way her stories respond to the expectations of "ethnic fiction" and "African fiction," as genres full of Third-world starvation and refugees. She deftly handles subjectivities of black African positionality, facets of identity which the market would slam as "inauthentic," or "not African enough." Her stories are delightfully astute, her characters cracking the lenses by which one might e...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Sokari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nigeria, women-gender

What an excellent set of short stories exploring the human condition with all its flaws and neurosis. Adichie addresses the institution of marriage - arranged marriage, infidelity; same sex desire, sibling rivalry and the consequences of subordinating female children; she then intersects these with immigration and migration and interracial relationships. Each story is complete yet you feel it could also form the basis for a longer novel. Unlike many young Nigerian writers Adichie's language is u...more

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May 17, 2012 Ngozichi Omekara rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book got so many raving reviews, and i wonder
However it was a big anticlimax for me. Yes Adichie is an excellent story teller and creates awesome characters, but this collection of stories did not do much for me. After reading her first two books. I expected more. this was like yesterday's leftover, reheated for today's dinner

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Jun 08, 2013 Buchdoktor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories-kurzgeschichten, africa, women-frauen

Ein Stipendium für eine ausländische Universität oder eine Arbeitserlaubnis für die USA sollte für einen jungen Afrikaner das große Los sein. Für die vermeintlichen Glückspilze erweist sich der Visa-Stempel im Pass oft als Zugang zu einer Sackgasse. Die kindliche Hoffnung der Daheimgebliebenen auf Geschenke aus den reichen Ländern im Norden und die Verpflichtung gegenüber allen, die den Weg ebnen halfen, kann sich zusammen mit dem Leistungsdruck im Studium zu einer unüberwindlichen Hürde aufbaue...more Ein Stipendium für eine ausländische Universität oder eine Arbeitserlaubnis für die USA sollte für einen jungen Afrikaner das große Los sein. Für die vermeintlichen Glückspilze erweist sich der Visa-Stempel im Pass oft als Zugang zu einer Sackgasse. Die kindliche Hoffnung der Daheimgebliebenen auf Geschenke aus den reichen Ländern im Norden und die Verpflichtung gegenüber allen, die den Weg ebnen halfen, kann sich zusammen mit dem Leistungsdruck im Studium zu einer unüberwindlichen Hürde aufbauen. Für viele afrikanische Studenten gibt es aus dem Ausland kein Zurück mehr. Weil sie sich den Anforderungen des Familienclans trotz bester Examensnoten nicht gewachsen fühlen oder sich der Heiratsdiplomatie der Elterngeneration nicht mehr unterwerfen wollen. Für Frauen, die im Mittelpunkt von Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies Erzählungen stehen, hat das bescheidene Glück zwischen den Kulturen einen besonders hohen Preis. Adichies Heldinnen müssen sich ihr Glück mit der Trennung von ihrer Familie oder durch sexuelle Dienstleistungen erkaufen, die einige Männer als den ihnen zustehenden Anteil betrachten.

"Ich bin Nigerianerin, Feministin, schwarz, Igbo und mehr, aber wenn ich als eine von diesen kategorisiert werde, wird es fast unmöglich, als eine der anderen gesehen zu werden, ich empfinde das als Beschränkung." - Adichie über Adichie in einem Interview mit Daria Tunca. (Mehr über die Autorin auf der Webseite Marabout.)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (*1977 in Abba/Nigeria) ermöglicht ihren Lesern den Blick in einen zweiseitigen Spiegel. Die eine Seite zeigt, wie Einwanderer aus Afrika die schizophrene Haltung der US-Amerikaner gegenüber Schwarzen erleben. Die andere Seite spiegelt den Brain Drain, die Abwanderung begabter Studenten und qualifizierter Arbeitskräfte aus Afrika in wohlhabende Länder. In "Zelle eins" berichtet Adichie vom Schicksal einer Professorenfamilie, deren Sohn aus Langeweile als Mitglied einer Jugendgang straffällig wird und sich im Gefängnis der gnadenlosen Knasthierarchie gegenübersieht. Nkem in "Imitation" wird von ihrem Mann im goldenen Käfig eines Luxushauses in den USA gehalten, während er in Nigeria mit einer Geliebten zusammenlebt. Chika und eine ihr unbekannte Muslimin begegnen sich auf der Flucht vor einem plötzlichen Gewaltausbruch auf dem Markt. Mit den beiden Frauen unterschiedlicher Religionen stehen sich die beiden Volksgruppen gegenüber, die in "Ein privates Erlebnis" von den Herrschenden zu Ausschreitungen aufgehetzt wurden. Die "federleichte Freundlichkeit" der fremden Frau charakterisiert treffend Adichies liebevollen Umgang mit ihren Figuren.

In "Geister" trifft James, ein Überlebender des Biafra-Konflikts, einen längst Totgeglaubten, als er seine Rente abholen will. Rentenzahlungen wird es nicht geben; denn das Geld wurde längst veruntreut, ehe es James Wohnort erreichen kann. James verkörpert in rührender Weise das Zusammentreffen des modernen und des traditionellen Afrika. Von gebildeten Menschen wie James wird die Unterscheidung zwischen Realität und Geisterwelt erwartet. Ungeachtet davon erhält James Besuche seiner lange verstorbenen Frau. "Letze Woche Montag" konfrontiert uns mit der Vergeudung von Qualifikationen, die in Afrika dringend gebraucht würden. Für ein höreres Einkommen als sie in Nigeria als Lehrerin von 50 Schülern erhalten würde, betreut Kamara in den USA ein einzelnes Kind. Josh, dessen Mutter farbig ist, soll mit optimaler Ernährung und Förderung zu einem kleinen Überflieger optimiert werden. Kamara hat den Begriff multiethnisch noch nie gehört, der sie als Kinderfrau für ein farbiges Kind qualifiziert. Doch in Joshs weißen Vater Neil blickt die unterschätzte Hilfskraft tiefer, als ihm angenehm sein kann. Ängste vor Kinderschändern und Ernährungssünden, wie Neil sie pflegt, können sich laut Kamara nur satte Menschen leisten.

In "Jumping Monkey Hill" werden Schriftsteller aus verschiedenen afrikanischen Ländern zu einem Workshop nach Südafrika eingeladen. Über die Selbstgefälligkeit, die sie in der Art des Autorensponsoring empfindet, könnte die Erzählerin Romane schreiben. Mit einem Literaturpreis ausgezeichnet zu werden, der wie ein Lebensmittelkonzern heisst - eine zweifelhafte Ehre. Ujunwa fordert den einflussreichen weißen Sponsor des Treffens heraus, indem sie eine beklemmend realistische Geschichte aus dem Berufs-Alltag schwarzer Frauen abliefert. "Die amerikanische Botschaft" zeigt uns dasThema Asyl aus der Warte derer, die vor den Botschaften westlicher Staaten Schlange stehen. In weiteren Erzählungen geht es um arrangierte Ehen und unrealistische Vorstellungen vom Leben im Ausland, wie sie durch ameriksnische Fernsehserien geprägt werden. Eine letzte Geschichte erzählt im Stil Chinua Achebes aus der Zeit des Kolonialismus.

Wenn ein gutes Buch seine Leser nachdenklich und verändert zurücklassen soll, ist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie das mit ihren Erzählungen exzellent gelungen.

Textauszug
"Es war der Sommer, als du Großmama gefragt hast, warum Nonso den ersten Schluck bekam, obwohl Dozie dreizehn war, ein Jahr älter als Nonso, und Großmutter sagte, Nonso sei der einzige Sohn ihres Sohns, der einzige, der den Nnabuisi-Namen weitertrgen würde, während Dozie nur ein nwadiana sei, der Sohn ihrer Tochter. Es war der Sommer, als du die abgestreifte Haut einer Schlange auf dem Rasen fandst, unverletzt und hauchdünn wie durchsichtige Strümpfe, und Großmama dir sagte, der Name der Schlange sei echi eteka, "Morgen ist weit weg". Ein Biss, sagte sie, und in zehn Minuten sei es vorüber. Es war nicht der Sommer, als du dich in deinen Cousin Dozie verliebtest, weil das schon ein paar Sommer früher passiert war, als er zehn war und du sieben ..." (S. 256) (less)

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May 11, 2013 Arun rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, favourite-books-of-all-times

This is one of the best books I've ever read. The Thing Around Your Neck is an anthology of twelve short stories that explore to the core human nature and inclinations.
The titles of the stories are: Cell One, Imitation, A Private Experience, Ghosts, On Monday of Last Week, Jumping Monkey Hill, The Thing Around Your Neck, The American Embassy, The Shivering, The Arrangers of Marriage, Tomorrow is Too Far, and The Headstrong Historian.
Each of these stories deal with a wide spectrum of concepts fro...more This is one of the best books I've ever read. The Thing Around Your Neck is an anthology of twelve short stories that explore to the core human nature and inclinations.
The titles of the stories are: Cell One, Imitation, A Private Experience, Ghosts, On Monday of Last Week, Jumping Monkey Hill, The Thing Around Your Neck, The American Embassy, The Shivering, The Arrangers of Marriage, Tomorrow is Too Far, and The Headstrong Historian.
Each of these stories deal with a wide spectrum of concepts from feminism to oppression, from religion to superstitions, from liberty to slavery, from anything to everything. The themes were dealt with in a story-telling format rather than a preachy way which makes it even more interesting.
For instance, in The Arrangers of Marriage, Adichie explores identity crisis, haplessness, and fake showing-offs. In Shivering, she deals with sexuality and self-realization. In Embassy, we see how dignity and self-respect works in mysterious ways. In Imitation, we see the hidden depths of longing - even to those who are reserved and mute. In The Headstrong Historian, Adichie without sounding political, was able to condemn colonialism. She would have not wanted to condemn but simply voice her opinions through her characters, but these characters were fierce and lively that we could see Adichie herself voicing from one of the character.
My favourite of all these is The Thing Around Your Neck which was written in second person point of view inevitably forcing the reader to vicariously experience the falseness of human relationships. If I were asked to single out a story of my choice, it surely would be this. And this is the only story that made me instantly to decide that I will have to buy this book.
All the stories are poignant, fierce and demanding; unable to ignore and feel. I wonder why this book has not received any awards, for in my opinion, compared to Half of a Yellow Sun, this book, this anthology is more engaging and more emotional.
This had joined in the list of my favourite books of all times!(less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Drinkthedamncocoa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Adichie's gift in story-telling is nothing short of pure art and genius. Each story flowed smoothly like silk and I found myself literally unable to put it down, even when walking on the pavement.

A lot of critics have touched upon the middle class/university educated/diaspora themes that admittedly run in practically every single story. However, I would say that Adichie is a writer that writes what she knows about. It is clear that her own personal experiences have influenced her stories. But I...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Maythee rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful book. Adichie is an excellent writer in that she is able to develop very individualized characters that escape generalized portrayals (e.g., the woman bound to an arranged marriage, the asylum seeker, the social justice activist, etc). She also produces a variety of motivation, attitude and approach in her characters. They move you -- even as you might not always agree with them. Even in her supporting characters, she produces types that you can remember knowing without ever...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Katharine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Only because I am reading alphabetically through my library's fiction shelves, did I this book up. My self-imposed rules are that I don't read any back covers or inside flaps, I just read the first 50 pages and then decide if the book is worth finishing. Had I read the back flap, my silly prejudices would have forced me to put it down and pick up, instead, a silly rom-com. I am a white, WASP, 44 year old, egocentric American with an average education and little travel experience, it would never...more

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May 20, 2012 Nick D rated it 3 of 5 stars

The long history of immigrant literature in America has changed as it approached the 21st century. A genre that began with immigrant laborers has expanded with the changes in transportation (to jet travel) and the economy to whole new diasporas: Southeast Asia, India, the Slavic nations, and, in the case of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigeria. This is a Nigeria caught between American Northeast Corridor and Lagos, of the Igbo people who have largely left behind the despair of Biafra and confront n...more The long history of immigrant literature in America has changed as it approached the 21st century. A genre that began with immigrant laborers has expanded with the changes in transportation (to jet travel) and the economy to whole new diasporas: Southeast Asia, India, the Slavic nations, and, in the case of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigeria. This is a Nigeria caught between American Northeast Corridor and Lagos, of the Igbo people who have largely left behind the despair of Biafra and confront new, more modern threats: Muslim insurgency in the north, the kleptocratic government, the tradition, several times alluded to in this book, of the Big Man. It is a Nigeria where arranged marriages lead to Flatbush, where dealing with African-Americans is as difficult as with white ones, where a place in the visa line at the American embassy is a matter of survival, where a university student of chemistry becomes a nanny to a single interracial child on Philadelphia's Main Lane, where -- in probably the weakest story -- a Nigerian writer attends a literary workshop in South Africa hosted by a white Briton explains African literature to Africans. Yet, for all the troubled transoceanic marriages, for all the flying and calling back and forth, the stories that leave the greatest impression are the ones that do not leave Nigeria. In "Cell One", a girl narrates her family's struggle to help her jailed brother. "The Headstrong Historian" dilineates the transmission of culture from a grandmother whose son is in the first generation to attend missionary schools and deny the past to a granddaughter who redeems it. In the strongest story, the short "A Private Experience" a southern Igbo women crawls into a destroyed store to escape a rampaging crowd and makes common cause with the Hausa Muslim mother she finds already sheltering there despite the religious, linguistic and cultural barriers. The most challenging leap of faith, it turns out, is not across the Atlantic, but within the country. (less)

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Mar 11, 2012 Perry Whitford rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone interested in African literature.

Collection of short stories from Nigerian writer Chimamanda, reflecting her own experiences as a female African writer educated in America and the stories he must have heard from her ancestors who would have witnessed first hand the arrival of the white man and christianity to her homeland.

The only book by an African writer I can remember reading before was Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, nearly twenty years ago now. Chimamanda's writing reminded me of that book, very simple and direct, almo...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Andrew David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I suggest this collection of short stories if you are at all interested in any of the following: America and the Nigerian immigrant (and the folks who stayed in Nigeria); the relationships between men and women, particularly as narrated from the female perspective and particularly in settings where women are in some ways marginalized; the intersection between evil and suffering and, maybe, faith--some of these stories would have been perfect for our current issue at The Other Journal--good use o...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: short-stories

The Thing Around Your Neck is a collection of short stories by Chimamanda Adichie, author of Purple Hibiscus. I read Purple Hibiscus a few weeks ago and enjoyed it enough to give this book a try. I'm glad I did.

While short stories are not generally my favorite literary format, I found the characters in these stories well-formed and believable. The stories themselves were varied - some set in Africa, some in the US, some sad, some touching. Yet they were uniformly well-written. In writing these s...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Wanderlust rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book in two days...I do enjoy short stories at times, it makes the progress faster and there is always the next story to look forward to if you not particularly engrossed by one story. I first read Purple Hibiscus three years ago and fell in love with Adichie's writing. The Thing Around Your Neck is a collection of stories previously published in various publications. It tells of immigrant Nigerians, professionals, students, wives carving their way in the land of opportunity, America...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Sally906 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction, african, nigerian

A collection of twelve short stories finds Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi reflecting on various aspects of relationships; relationships between family, people and cultures. Each of the stories are either set in Nigeria or America, and all the central characters are Nigerian.

As with most books of short stories - some are better than others. My only criticism is that a couple of the stories just seemed to stop before the end, so I didn't get a sense of closure - in fact I didn't even get a sense of a sta...more A collection of twelve short stories finds Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi reflecting on various aspects of relationships; relationships between family, people and cultures. Each of the stories are either set in Nigeria or America, and all the central characters are Nigerian.

As with most books of short stories - some are better than others. My only criticism is that a couple of the stories just seemed to stop before the end, so I didn't get a sense of closure - in fact I didn't even get a sense of a start on them. I was left with a sense of 'what was the point?' Having said that, there is the saying you can't please all of the people all of the time - and for the most part I was pleased. Here are summaries of my some of my favourite stories:

“Cell One” is the first story, and tells of a family in Nigeria whose has a problem son. A want to be rebel he steals and pawns his mother’s solid gold necklaces and hangs out with gangs at local bars. One of these bars is raided by the police and the son is sent to jail. During hissubsequent stint in prison he sees an innocent old man being humiliated by corrupt guards. Outraged for the first time in his life, he challenges the guards and ends up being beaten and sent to Cell One.

In 'A Private Experience,' Chika, a Medical student and an Igbo Christian from Lagos, who is visiting her aunt in a town in the north of Nigeria. While at the market a riot breaks out and she is separated form her sister. A nameless woman leads her to shelter, she is a market trader with five children and also an Hausa Muslim. This rescue is significant because after it is all over Chika will learn that as she and the woman shelter together and talk, Hausa Muslims are hacking down Igbo Christians with machetes, clubbing them with stones.

All in all, the stories are written well, but they deal with 'in your face' topics such as violence, oppression, fear, torture, hope lost and love denied. There were a few moments of laughter , but for the most part the characters were not happy. I personally would have liked to have seen a little more optimism, the occasional light in amongst the darkness.(less)

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Jul 08, 2011 Babydoll rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After familiarizing myself with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s literary works, I found it appropriate to read her most current publication, The Thing Around Your Neck. I did not approach this book, which consists of a collection of short stories, with the same exuberance that I had when reading her first two published novels. This is likely because I do not prefer to read short stories. However, in doing so, I assessed this volume with a sense of admiration for Adichie’s exceptional literary prose....more After familiarizing myself with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s literary works, I found it appropriate to read her most current publication, The Thing Around Your Neck. I did not approach this book, which consists of a collection of short stories, with the same exuberance that I had when reading her first two published novels. This is likely because I do not prefer to read short stories. However, in doing so, I assessed this volume with a sense of admiration for Adichie’s exceptional literary prose. I hold a deep appreciation for “seasoned” authors, however I find it delightfully refreshing to read the works of young authors within my generation, that have been recognized for their brilliant talents.

Adichie has been highly acclaimed within the respective arena of Chinua Achebe’s works, who is often hailed as “the father of African literature”. In The Thing Around Your Neck, Adichie further proves this notion. The book encompasses an awe-inspiring collection of stories that takes place in Africa and the United States, and explores the intrinsic human spirit within men and women. Adichie addresses numerous subjects that ascribes to an innate sense of humanity.

One of my favorite stories is Tomorrow Is Too Far. Adichie writes this story in the second-person point of view, which allows the reader to become transformed into the life of the main character. Written with such a raw prose, Adichie addresses the menacing manifestation of envy and its poisonous effects on the psyche.

As a selective bibliophile, I tend to not read short stories. In addition, I am a reader who enjoys the task of reading a novel and becoming enthralled with the lives of the characters. I find it disheartening to read a short story with a relatable character, and when the story abruptly ends, I am left feeling like I have prematurely lost a friend. I admit that I had these feelings while reading the book, but I was so impressed with Adichie’s writing, that I was eager to continue to the next story. I also found comfort in knowing that Adichie is a fictional writer who is currently working on her third novel. The Thing Around Your Neck is a superb book, which will grasp the reader’s attention and definitely deserves to be read. Readers who enjoy, as well as those who tend to not read short stories, will discover a positive receptiveness toward this book. I highly recommend this as a must-read.
(less)

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Aug 15, 2012 Osho rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

I enjoyed this collection of 12 short stories by the author of Half of a Yellow Sun. The audiobook was well-narrated by Adjoa Andoh. Some stories stood out for their content, notably the daily details showing the effects of intra-Nigerian conflicts. Others ably unfolded internal dialogues and emotions that show the strain of balancing different aspects of identity and experience, such as US vs. Nigerian ways of understanding or enacting relationships. What I found most effective, though, was the...more

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Jun 24, 2012 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, literary

Astonishing. In 12 short stories this accomplished Nigerian writer, using her experience and knowledge of Nigerian history and culture as her prism, skillfully encompasses the entirety of being human in a world where how one relates to people can determine happiness or success. Some of the stories are placed in Nigeria, and the authentic detail is marvelous, and some of the stories are of Nigerian immigrants living uneasily in America, uncertain of acceptance by neighbors and employers, while st...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Mohd Nazmi Yaakub rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nigeria, kumpulan-cerpen, sastera

GAYA dan langgam penulisan Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yang mengalir sepanjang 12 cerpen dalam The Thing Around Your Neck memudahkan kita menyusuri karyanya yang sarat dengan pascakolonialisme.

Tidak hanya gaya dan langgam penulisan serta bahasa yang sederhana yang menyenangkan kita untuk menikmati kumpulan cerpen ini, bahkan kita seolah-olah membaca hal yang dekat dengan kita.

Di tangan Adichie, perwatakan tertawan kepada Barat benar-benar diselam ke dasar karyanya sehingga kita tidak dapat mengelak...more GAYA dan langgam penulisan Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yang mengalir sepanjang 12 cerpen dalam The Thing Around Your Neck memudahkan kita menyusuri karyanya yang sarat dengan pascakolonialisme.

Tidak hanya gaya dan langgam penulisan serta bahasa yang sederhana yang menyenangkan kita untuk menikmati kumpulan cerpen ini, bahkan kita seolah-olah membaca hal yang dekat dengan kita.

Di tangan Adichie, perwatakan tertawan kepada Barat benar-benar diselam ke dasar karyanya sehingga kita tidak dapat mengelak daripada perasaan mual dan sebal kepada watak yang mabuk kepada restu dari Barat itu.

Dalam hal inilah, kita tidak dapat mengelak daripada berasa dekat dengan isu yang dibawa oleh Adichie seputar manusia berperwatakan tertawan kepada Barat itu.

Saya kira cerpen The Headstrong Historian seolah-olah memunggah pascakolonialisme Nigeria ke dalam satu naratif yang mudah: Bagaimana seorang wanita mahukan anaknya mendapat pendidikan Barat supaya membela kepentingannya daripada dirakusi bangsanya sendiri, menyaksikan anaknya semakin jauh daripada budayanya tetapi roh mendiang suaminya seolah-olah kembali pada jasad cucunya yang kemudian kembali kepada budayanya dengan penuh susah payah.

Keseluruhan cerpen dalam The Thing Around Your Neck itu sebenarnya bergerak pada naratif sebegitu meskipun melalui sudut yang berbeza. Adichie menyuguhkan watak yang berinteraksi dan kadang-kala berkonfrontasi dengan keinginan mendapatkan restu dari Barat supaya dilihat maju dan moden sehingga meminggirkan budaya bangsanya.

Pada masa sama, Adichie tetap mengakui sudut negatif yang ada pada bangsanya dan sangat ironik apabila kita sendiri seolah-olah dapat melihatnya pada latar kita sendiri!

Selain daripada kecenderungan Adichie kepada elemen homoseksual, saya kira banyak yang kita dapat belajar daripada pengalaman politik dan budaya dari Nigeria - yang pada beberapa tempat tertentu menyebabkan kita bertanya-tanya apakah seandainya nama watak dan tempat ditukar kepada watak dan tempat kita, cerpen dalam The Thing Around Your Neck sebenarnya bercerita tentang kita juga?(less)

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Nov 07, 2011 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: africa, contemporary-fiction, fiction, library, literary-fiction, short-stories

The Thing Around Your Neck is a short story collection by one of my favourite authors, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Having previously read and loved Purple Hibiscus (my review) and especially Half of a Yellow Sun (my review - go and get a copy now if you haven't read it), I couldn't wait to get my hands on this collection, her only work published in book form that I had yet to read. And I wasn't disappointed.

The Thing Around Your Neck is a short story collection about women, the immigrant experienc...more The Thing Around Your Neck is a short story collection by one of my favourite authors, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Having previously read and loved Purple Hibiscus (my review) and especially Half of a Yellow Sun (my review - go and get a copy now if you haven't read it), I couldn't wait to get my hands on this collection, her only work published in book form that I had yet to read. And I wasn't disappointed.

The Thing Around Your Neck is a short story collection about women, the immigrant experience, things not working out the way they should and homesickness. All of the women in the stories have a connection of some kind with Nigeria; some are on their way to America to marry Nigerian men who have already made it, some are caught up in violence, some are writing about it and some are missing it with every bone in their body. Nigeria appears as almost a character in it's own right - a whirl of colours, smells, sound and vibrancy compared with a grey, bland, tasteless America.

Aside from that, the other major theme that I could identify was disappointment and expectations not being met. The stories are full of Nigerian women who have moved to America anticipating a land of milk and honey and found themselves disappointed, both with their new country and their new husbands. In The Arrangers of Marriage, Chinaza is encouraged by her husband to cook only American food, change her name and be as American as possible, resulting in a deep homesickness. She can't write home about her misery as her relatives all assume she will have a big house, a car and all the perks of living in America.

I had several favourite stories from the collection. One was A Private Experience, a story of an unlikely friendship between a Hausa Muslim and Igbo Christian during race riots in Nigeria. Another was On Monday of Last Week, about the loneliness of a woman working as a nanny for an American family. Although Tomorrow is Too Far didn't really fit in with the themes of the rest of the collection, it was a very creepy story about sibling rivalry.

But my favourite story was Jumping Monkey Hill, about a group of upcoming African writers invited to a safari lodge in South Africa for a writing seminar by a white sponsor. It seemed as though Adichie had used this story to vent all of her frustrations about the attitude towards and labels given to African writers as most of the stories the Africans write are disparaged by the white sponsor. He wants them only to write of war, desperation, hunger and stereotypes, not the truth of their experiences and countries.

To sum up, I would highly recommend this well written collection, especially if you are interested in the immigrant experience.(less)

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Apr 04, 2011 Amélie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, nigéria

J'avais beaucoup aimé Half of a Yellow Sun, que j'ai lu au mois de janvier, alors j'étais contente de tomber sur le recueil de nouvelles d'Adichie à la bibliothèque. Mais même si je l'ai gobé en, disons, deux traits & demi, je suis pas tout à fait convaincue.

Ce qui m'a le plus chicoté, avec ces nouvelles, c'est que celles qui parlent de la guerre du Biafra reprennent des thèmes (quand c'est pas des détails & des anecdotes au complet) qui ont été mieux traités dans Half of a Yellow Sun. J...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Malcolm rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-contemporary

It is much more likely that I will describe an author of fiction as a good writer, rather than a storyteller – being a storyteller is much higher praise. All three of Adichie’s books have marked her as a fabulous storyteller – in this case of people who are out of place, dislocated by migration, by colonisation or by some other shift in status; all that is except for the nameless young woman being talked about in the penultimate story ‘Tomorrow Is Too Far’, a slightly disturbing tale of deceptio...more It is much more likely that I will describe an author of fiction as a good writer, rather than a storyteller – being a storyteller is much higher praise. All three of Adichie’s books have marked her as a fabulous storyteller – in this case of people who are out of place, dislocated by migration, by colonisation or by some other shift in status; all that is except for the nameless young woman being talked about in the penultimate story ‘Tomorrow Is Too Far’, a slightly disturbing tale of deception, cover-up and childhood alliance. For an instance of Adichie’s storytelling skills, see her TED Talk, ‘The danger of a single story’ (at http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_a...). She is also one of those enormously annoying writers who make storytelling seem so effortless, and in this case most of the stories carried me along in a way that seemed as if I was not reading something sharp when all the while I was listening (her voice is engaging) in on a vignette that told of something much bigger.

Good short stories seem to me to be those that find the general in the particular – not in the sociological sense of illustrating some kind of social phenomenon, but of encapsulating relationships in moments. This encapsulation, which in this collection worked most effectively for me in ‘The American Embassy’ and in ‘The Headstrong Historian’ which both surprised in the narrative turns they took, gives a good short story its power and its resonance. In Adichie’s hands, they also recognise limits and for as many of her characters who manage to escape the constraints they find themselves in there are others who remain stuck but looking for a way beyond the predicament.

These are stories of worlds on the cusp, where some pending change is managed but much is not. Some of the stories seem to mock but more of which both loves and satirises, while underlined by an intense feeling that there is a cultural cringe to be sloughed off. Much of what happens here, especially in the stories of migration to the USA satirises a Nigerian middle class desperation to move beyond what seem to be the limits of middle classness; the grass is most certainly not greener across the fence.

This is storytelling and writing to be relished.(less)

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Oct 22, 2012 David Dacosta rated it 2 of 5 stars

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s writing is polished and self-assured. Her story execution leaves much to be desired, though. The collection is a mixed bag. Adichie seems determined to create the impression that Nigerian immigrants are typically university educated, as if the notion of an African man or woman without a degree seeking a better life abroad is somehow an oversimplified concept. This fixation with status and superficiality soon becomes a dominate theme.

It’s impossible to read The Thing A...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, ladywritten, bechdel_test_yes

Wow, this is an amazing collection. I picked up the Fourth Estate edition because the cover was striking and it was front and center on a table at Powell's. Also, I remembered that Adichie wrote Half of a Yellow Sun, which I've wanted to read for a while. (That is an incredible title, and they're making a movie of it now. So it's on the list.) I was also interested to read something by an African woman, because I have a pretty big gap there.

Anyway, wow. Someone blurbed this edition by saying th...more

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Jun 05, 2013 Ava Homa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was intrigued by Adichie's TED talk and picked up this book with really high expectations. The first story I read was "A Private Experience" and I was bitterly disappointed. The story was so flat, so didactic...Ugh! The ending was just terribly weak. I am sure a Muslim woman who has covered her hair all her life won't easily let go of her scarf for a (weird) stranger. I'd understand if she even tear it apart, give away some of the clothe and still keep the rest to cover her hair. If she decide...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Daeja rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. Adichie grew up pretty well off in Nigeria and then moved to the states for college. It is a great skill to be able to portray what you don't know well enough to make the reader feel attached to your characters. The mind of Adiche blooms with cultures both African and American,but not African American, and there is something to be said for keeping the two separate identities.

This book of short stories shares tradition and change through many different lights. Reading not of...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

another great book by adichie. i do like the technique of writing in the second person. it brings to mind an older person reminiscing about themselves when younger and perhaps wondering how they should have done things differently.

i find some of adichie's male characters lacking in depth, and unfortunately this was the case here. neil in "on monday of last week" is fussy, neurotic and weak - almost a jewish stereotype. but another character, an evangelical christian who comes to pray with a cath...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Adrian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: shorts

Here is an author that understands the human condition better than just about any author I’ve ever read before. In this collection of short stories, Adichie has penned works that strike perfectly at the heart of what makes us human: the ties that bind and also that separate. Her prose are strikingly beautiful, her stories wonderfully poignant, and her characters remarkably vivid. And all the while, there is this great sense of universality to her writing. All of these stories are about African c...more Here is an author that understands the human condition better than just about any author I’ve ever read before. In this collection of short stories, Adichie has penned works that strike perfectly at the heart of what makes us human: the ties that bind and also that separate. Her prose are strikingly beautiful, her stories wonderfully poignant, and her characters remarkably vivid. And all the while, there is this great sense of universality to her writing. All of these stories are about African characters, most of which have immigrated to America, and yet all of them are easily relatable to her American readers. Never once did I feel lost or alienated by what I was reading; never once did I fail to grasp what these characters were experiencing and how they felt or why they felt this or that way. Here, also, is an author with an amazing grasp of the craft. It’s rare to find an author who is just as effective in the first person narrative as she is in the third or even the second. Indeed, when was the last time you found an author even capable of penning a tale in the second person that you didn’t find laughable? But Adichie utilizes it in a couple of stories to great effect.
The stories span genders and sexual orientations and she writes them all with great certainty and conviction. She writes about the human body, sex, and other bodily functions and it never seems juvenile or titillating, but it’s always frank and to the point and understandable. It takes a great gift to work these details into a story and not allow them to be distracting or mitigating in any fashion.
If there is a knock against these stories at all, and I’m not so sure that there is, it would be the lack of a standard “ending” to a few of them. They play more like snapshots of this or that portion of the character’s lives and there is not much left to be said about what takes place after the last word is written. This leaves a couple of the stories with an unfinished feeling. The reader might feel a sense of dissatisfaction, wondering what happens next or where the resolution might come from. But it’s a small complaint at best since the stories seem to work much like life works and the way that the stories aren’t wrapped up in a neat bow can be, in and of itself, satisfying. Either way, this collection of short stories provides an exceptional reading experience. This might just be the best book I’ve read in I don’t know how long.(less)

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Nov 11, 2012 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa, contemporary, nigeria, short-story-collections, united-states, 3-stars-and-a-half

Although I’m not a short story fan, I picked this up because Half of a Yellow Sun is a work of genius and so I’m interested in reading anything Adichie writes (Purple Hibiscus is good too, but with some first-novel problems). The stories in this collection are interesting and well-crafted, but left me with some reservations.

There are 12 unrelated, bite-size short stories in the collection; half are set in Nigeria and another five feature Nigerian immigrants in the northeast United States. The su...more Although I’m not a short story fan, I picked this up because Half of a Yellow Sun is a work of genius and so I’m interested in reading anything Adichie writes (Purple Hibiscus is good too, but with some first-novel problems). The stories in this collection are interesting and well-crafted, but left me with some reservations.

There are 12 unrelated, bite-size short stories in the collection; half are set in Nigeria and another five feature Nigerian immigrants in the northeast United States. The subject matter varies: a teenage girl’s brother is wrongly arrested and detained; a retired professor waits for a pension that never comes; a well-educated immigrant takes a job as a nanny for an American family and develops a crush on the child’s mother. But there are common themes, in particular the tension between Nigerian political and economic realities that impel people to immigrate, and the difficulties they face in a new country. The stories have diverse plots and are well-structured. A few begin with interesting hooks and then fizzle out, but for the most part they feel complete within their brief page counts. At the same time, many seem to contain the seeds of novels (in a couple of cases, novels she's already written), and are interesting enough that I'd be happy to see them expanded.

The character development is mixed. There are some vivid and three-dimensional characters here, a feat given the length of the stories. On the other hand, the protagonists tend to run together. With few exceptions, they’re youngish women, Igbo, from either Lagos or Nsukka, moderately Christian, from relatively privileged backgrounds, seemingly intelligent and hardworking but also a bit wishy-washy and self-righteous, who deal with adversity through silent resentment that they keep inside until it either explodes or turns into bitterness. Most of them feel like the same person.

The stories here are also less subtle than Adichie’s novels, and with an undercurrent of anger; at times the book feels like an enumeration of Things Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche Does Not Like, taking aim at everything from embassy personnel to people who think African fiction ought to focus on atrocities to helicopter parents. Sometimes I found the criticisms incisive (the self-satisfied liberal tourist who observes foreign poverty from a position of comfort); other times they seem less justified (why shouldn’t a visa interviewer ask an asylum seeker if she has any proof for her claims?). And while there’s good and bad to the Nigerian characters, the portrayal of the Americans is mostly negative.

The writing is good, but the simplicity of Adichie’s style comes across as more literary in her novels, with their complex characters and well-developed settings; here it sometimes seems just simple. A couple of the stories use the second person, something all literary writers apparently feel the need to attempt; as always, it’s distracting, but fortunately those stories are among the shortest.

Despite the problems, this is one of the better short stories collections that I’ve read, and I enjoyed these more than I generally do short stories. Still, I hope Adichie goes back to writing novels.(less)

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Aug 07, 2012 Savvas Katseas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, psychology

Άλλοτε βαθύ και γεμάτο κρυμμένα νοήματα, άλλοτε flat και βαρετό, το Thing Around Your Neck είναι συλλογή διηγημάτων της Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie με τάσεις σχιζοφρένειας -- και αυτό είναι κάτι το καλό. Δίνει ποικιλία. Το κακό είναι πως θεματικώς εστιάζει αποκλειστικά σε μια κουλτούρα, αυτή των Νιγηριανών, και στο πώς η κουλτούρα αυτή αλληλεπιδρά με την αμερικάνικη, κάτι που κάνει κομμάτια του βιβλίου -και ένα ολόκληρο διήγημα, στην περίπτωση του ομότιτλου και κύριου έργου- προβλέψιμα, βαρετά. Είχ...more

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About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria, the fifth of six children to Igbo parents.

Chimamanda studied medicine and pharmacy at the University of Nigeria for a year and a half. At nineteen, Chimamanda left for the U.S to study communication at Drexel University in Philadelphia for two years, then went on to pursue a degree in communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut St...more

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