Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship’s review of Americanah > Likes and Comments

I agree with this except for the comment about the store scene and how unwillingness to mention race is not all that "universal". As a black female in London I found that pretty spot on. But Ifemelu was terrible and the book was far too didactic in tone.

But the fact that that's your experience in London doesn't mean everyone would react that way, particularly in the U.S. In that context, where I live, I think a lot of people would be uncomfortable mentioning the saleslady's race but probably would do so when there was no other way to identify her. They'd try to identify her another way if possible but wouldn't just give up in defeat if it wasn't. Adichie sometimes tries to talk about things being a certain way everywhere in the U.S., which I think generalizes way too much, especially since she only knows and writes about one region of the country.

Glad someone agrees about Ifemelu--I haven't seen anyone else have the same reaction so far!

That's part of the problem with this novel. Such moments feel heavy handed and one dimensional as I think you mentioned in your extensive review. She resorts to stereotypes(types of people I have myself encountered from time to time - maybe to get those aha! moments from relatable readers like myself) but ultimiately does this at the expense of character depth and realism (which is your complaint, I think). If you haven't read Half of A Yellow Sun yet I would still go for it. It's vastly superior to this one and much more subtly emotive.

Oh I see you have read it - I think it's amazing too. :o)

Yes, I agree. I do think this is the sort of book that will likely work much better for people who can relate to it through personal experience than for people who can't. I agree about the stereotypes--we get to know very few of the people who appear in this story. At one point I was wondering if the revolving door of characters was meant to be representative of immigrant life, and if the whole point was there isn't a stable cast of characters in Ifemelu's life. But the same thing happens even once Ifemelu became more stable, and when she was in Nigeria.

Anyway I think we might be making similar points with the stereotyping and what I've called exaggeration--I felt like a lot of the scenes, while not dishonest about the way people behave, were a little too simplified or generalized too broadly. I think if she hadn't tried to cram so many unrelated incidents all into one book and had just picked a few of the most important and let them evolve naturally, it would have worked much better.

But anyway, yes, I really hope this book doesn't cause anyone to avoid Half of a Yellow Sun! That book is fantastic.

I read the race observations as part of the development of Ifemelu's experience in America. They were very much a part of the story for her character.

Well, I guess so, in the sense that the point of the "story" is for Ifemelu to deliver all the author's opinions. That doesn't make an engaging novel, though. At least I sure didn't think so, and I enjoy a fairly wide range of books--obviously other people did enjoy it, which to be frank I find pretty baffling.

I mean, WTF, now we're supposed to be earnest? I thought we were supposed to be fun-loving but oblivious, or something

I've come across the stereotype of Americans as earnest and oblivious but I've never come across one of Americans as fun-loving.

Didn't Adichie spend time in the UK? Maybe she picked up her prejudices about Americans over here?

I thought we were supposed to be racist gun loving pedophiles.

And you what's 10 times more annoying than when an author you previously loved writes a book you kind of hate? When you then realize actually you don't think much of the author as a person either.

That's certainly annoying, not to mention disappointing. :(

Ah yes, the Bakker effect.

Oh well, I don't think Adichie's nearly at Bakker levels of obnoxiousness, but wow, did those comments ever strike me the wrong way. I'm American, I didn't find the book at all funny, and I really don't appreciate the suggestion that it's because I can't handle books that deal bluntly with race, or that as an American I obviously have no sense of humor. But you know, definitely not because it's just a really boring book populated with unpleasant and underdeveloped characters.

In general I think it's very bad form for an author to go about saying that if a reader doesn't like their book, it's because the reader didn't "get" what the author was trying to do. (Sometimes it's true, but have some courtesy toward the people who chose to spend several hours with your work, over all the other hundreds of thousands of books they might have chosen!) But this especially pissed me off because I'd previously heaped a lot of praise on Adichie's books, bought copies for other people, etc.

Yeah, there's another author that said something similar about people "not getting it" recently. but I can't remember who it was.

Oh, it might have been that Stormdancer guy. I want to punch him in the face for lots of other reasons anyway though.

Oh, yeah, he had that "if you don't like it, it's because you need to relax" thing going on. That was definitely annoying. The funny thing there was that a lot of the early hype about his book seemed to be driven by his endearing personality, and then as soon as the criticisms started coming in he became the opposite.

I could write my own novel about that guy.

I remember now. Kristoff was the one who likened disliking his book to disliking chocolate ice cream.

At least he didn't argue that people who didn't enjoy it felt that way because they were Americans, Americans are all climate change skeptics and therefore disgruntled readers obviously just couldn't handle the blunt way he dealt with his environmental themes. (At least, I don't think he has....)

Haha, oh yeah. I;m starting to have flashbacks to the whole thing! He also got mad when people pointed out he was using sama wrong. I mean, he read ONE whole wiki article no japan and watched Akira!(I'm serious).

He's a mess. I think the series has kind of flopped though. They're trying to distribute ARCs of volume 2 through Vine, but where with the first one they were all snapped up within an hour, the second's been sitting around for at least a week and with plenty of copies left.

That was another book whose appeal just baffled me. I mean, I get that some people don't care about cultural appropriation, bad writing or cardboard characters. But it's not as if the story was particularly fast-paced or engaging, either.

I put that one in the same pile with The Unremembered. Pure crap thats popular for no sane reason. Even 50 Shades I can comprehend how it got popular. I don't like to because it hurts my brain, but I can. Those two just...baffle me.

THANKS for this review, Emma! Like you, I loved Half of a Yellow Sun, BUT like you, I'm sure I will NOT LIKE Americanah (based on your review). I would hate reading it, knowing that someone who is capable of writing a beautiful complex novel would instead sidetrack me with a hundred-plus page blog, with hundreds of characters thrown in. I agree, I would definitely read a non-fiction book about race issues, but I would be super annoyed with an essay book masquerading as a novel. Thank you for saving me the time and effort!

@Rachel: Thank you! This one is certainly a departure from Adichie's previous novels and I wish I had known how much of one before reading it.

@Lily: On the narrative awareness.... I'm not sure. Adichie certainly realizes Ifemelu isn't a perfect person, but she sort of gets the Mary Sue treatment despite being, to me, deeply unpleasant: she gets a string of highly desirable boyfriends all of whom worship her (and it's always she who does the breaking up), her little cousin thinks she's great, her blog gets tons of praise (some of it repeated verbatim in the text), and the people who criticize her are portrayed as being ugly and nasty and always in the wrong. Indeed, their valid criticisms tend to be phrased in ways that paint Ifemelu as the victim: for instance, when she skips out on Blaine's protest and lies to him about where she was, instead of his pointing out that she knew it was important to him, didn't care and lied about it (which is the accusation you'd expect, and one to which she really has no defense), he blames her nationality, thereby seeming to justify her self-righteous response. So I think Adichie realized it still wasn't a nice thing for Ifemelu to do, but the way it's portrayed, he's really the unreasonable one.

As far as how characters should be written: I definitely agree that they don't need to be "likeable," especially in the restrictive sense a lot of readers want them to be (all selfless and kind and whatnot). But I do expect characters to be either interesting or admirable or pleasant, and most often two of the three. Why would I want to read about nasty boring people? (I'd add that great writers can portray unpleasant people with mundane lives in ways that make them deep and interesting characters, but it does require intending the characters to be unpleasant, which I don't believe was the case here.)

As far as Obinze's career, I don't think he was really staying honest--or at least he was willfully blind to the corruption he was indirectly helping his benefactor perpetrate.

Doesn't sound appealing At all! And I too loved half of a yellow sun. Thank you for this review.

Gaeta1 wrote: "I am crushed at how much I am disliking this book, especially as I am in a bad book rut. I thought this one would pull me out--wrong. It is shrill and didactic- ."

So disappointing. I will not be reading. Sadly I already bought the kindle edition. It's a shame you can"t put unwanted ebooks on the street for someone else to find and keep.

I am not even going to bother writing a review because you so well articulated the reasons that I am not going to finish this novel, when I--like you--was a huge fan of her earlier books.

I think this is a great review. I haven't read Americanah, but for some reason, it is the one book by Ms. Adichie that interested me most. However, I read the same interview you link to and stopped myself from buying the book. There was a condescension that set off my warning bells.

Thanks all! I definitely recommend Half of a Yellow Sun to those who haven't read it. It's great both as historical fiction and as literature, with a gripping story and lots of character depth, and although some political elements are hinted at, they take a backseat to the story itself. There's a critique of the white man in Africa, but he's a nuanced and sympathetic character--I never got the sense of disdain that was just dripping from Americanah. Purple Hibiscus is quite good too: not among my favorites (it was her first novel and gets a little too bogged down in detail), but it has strong character development and is possibly the most complex portrait of an abusive family that I've seen. I agree completely with Gaeta--both of those books have a generosity of spirit that's completely missing here.

If you have not lived in Africa you will not understand and I guess this was a risk she was willing to take. As an American ex pat I see things the opposite of item coming to America and I found the viewpoint refreshing. I only wish I had read this book when I first moved to Africa. Her descriptions of Nigerians are dead on. Instead of being so critical, why not be willing to admit perhaps you don't have the experience to understand? I am sure I would not have liked the book at all if I didn't live in Africa.

If I could only enjoy books where my life experiences were similar to the protagonist's, it would hardly be worth my reading anything. ;) A good book draws readers in regardless of where they're coming from.

And opinionated, self-centered people as well--none with any moral compass.

Hey Emma, I just came across this review as I was trying to find one for Half of a Yellow Sun, and I appreciate everything you wrote, and I agree with quite a bit of it. And you're right, I think that a good book should draw readers in regardless of where they're coming from. Just to add, with the unapologetic force with which she wrote this book, I do wonder if she was even trying at all to reach the other half of her audience. The unapologetic vibe that I got gave me the impression that she had consciously or unconsciously, written this for an African audience (I can't address the problems inherent in that aim). I'm African, Nigerian really, and I found the book as a whole to be refreshing, so I agree with Ro in that sense. I think my origins had a lot to do with my finding this book funny and thought-provoking, and I'm a little sad when I hear that people didn't come away from the book with as much as I did.

Regardless of how I feel that if I met Chimamanda in reality, she might rub me the wrong way, I feel like with this book, she told my story, and helped me think through a lot of issues that I was/am facing as a student in an American college who grew up in Nigeria. I had too many relatable moments to not appreciate this book as a whole.

Hi Mohini,

I think you're right that Adichie wrote this book more for people with similar experiences than to try to convince people coming from a different place to agree with her, and I respect your engagement with the book. I know the feeling of loving a book so much that it's sad to see others dislike it! You're in good company, however, as most readers seem to have loved it.

My review might have looked different if the book had been marketed differently--the blurb describes it as a love story between two people making their way as immigrants, and based on my reading of Adichie's other books I was expecting similar storytelling. It's certainly not my goal to discourage people who can relate personally to the book from reading it, though. I can only review from my own experience, and I figure those who suspect mine won't predict theirs will scroll down to the next review.

Anyway, I appreciate your disagreeing pleasantly, which seems to be a rare thing on Goodreads these days! Ro may well be right that I'd like the book better if I lived in Africa, but saying that because I haven't I shouldn't share my experience with it or discuss its literary merits makes no sense.

Indeed it makes no sense. I appreciate a good discussion always, thanks for starting it!

Thank you for such a well-written review! I made it through the book, disliking the main character. At the end, I just felt dirty. The only person expressing any morality was the cheated wife.

Thanks Jim! I also felt a little soiled by the end of the book--not so much by the characters' moral choices (though I agree, Ifemelu and Obinze's behavior leaves a lot to be desired) but by Ifemelu's constant disdain. If she had been capable of enjoying herself or liking people without the constant judgment and begrudgement, this book wouldn't have left quite such a bad taste in my mouth. Or if she'd had some passion, stood for something besides just being a detractor. But no, she had as much disdain for the political activists as everyone else.

Thanks so much for this review. This hit the nail right on the head for me: "The most interesting parts of the characters' lives, the moments when something is actually at stake, are breezed through in narrative summary, while the book focuses in on mundane conversations illustrating Adichie's points about race."

Thanks, Gaelen!

Karima, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say to that; the book is too didactic not to "get," though enjoying it is a different story. I knew criticizing a book about racism meant there would be people who decided the author's opinions are the reason for my dislike, no matter how much I explained its literary failings. I've done my best to explain those failings in an honest review, but fans will think what they want.

The more things change...

I can't complain too much, fans of this book are pretty mature for the most part. If it was popular YA somebody would definitely have accused me of being in the KKK by now.

Oh yeah, there's a certain sci-fi novel that had a movie not too long ago that has fans that are.....hmmm I can't think of the right word. I want to stay stupid.

I'm a white American, and I found a lot of the book funny. It's definitely more real than a lot of novels (real life has large casts of characters), but I found that to be a refreshing change.

Rachel wrote: "THANKS for this review, Emma! Like you, I loved Half of a Yellow Sun, BUT like you, I'm sure I will NOT LIKE Americanah (based on your review). I would hate reading it, knowing that someone who is..."

You've gotten the wrong impression of this book. The overwhelming criticism of 'Americanah' targets the inclusion of Ifemelu's blog posts, yet there are only a few handfuls of them scattered in the later section of the novel. The posts themselves are very short and cover just half a page of text in most incidences. I found them funny and/or ranty in the way of many blog entries. And, like real blogs, they are styled to draw a specific readership.

The problem is Ifemelu's blogs are very pointed in their critique of Americans and American culture.

The retort, as has been seen here, is that the blogs don't accurately represent America. I think it's closer to the mark to say that they represent America from a perspective that is rarely found in mainstream literature -that of the 'non-American black' who both lives in America and actively criticizes American whites and blacks.

I have also read 'Half of a Yellow Sun'. I thought the writing was quite good, but I lost interest and skimmed the last half. 'Americanah,' I read in a little over 2 days because I enjoyed the less than flattering look at both England and an America from 'foreign' perspectives.

I just finished Americanah and had the same response. Having lived in West Africa and have many African friends in America I recognized many of the vignettes told in the book. I also found the blog postings in the book not particularly insightful or unique. This book seemed like a lot of those race novels in the sixties and seventies which were meant to inform white culture what is was really like to be black or brown. The characters in Americanah were as flimsy as tissue paper. I do have to say that the last section of the book, once Obinze and Ifemelu get together, the writing at times is simply gorgeous. There I'm reminded of James in its portrayal of character. The rest of the book I kept trying to put it in the context of a 19th century novel like Dickens or Hardy, but it just didn't sustain.

This books was actually ranked best books of 2013? I guess once you're famous you can get away with mediocre work

The observations about race in America is what most interested me.

Its definitely opinionated and judgmental..

I actually really liked this book but your review is making me reconsider! I totally see your point. Also, interestingly, I have an African-American friend who said she thought the book was "hilarious," which I also did not get at all! I was like, it is??

Have now read the book - although your comments Had persuaded me that I shouldn't - another friend loved it so I decided to give it a try. You were 100% right. This is not a novel but a disguised collection of essays. People do not converse, but speak in paragraph long position statements, designed to show which thin stereotype they belong to. There is very little character development but hundreds of useless walk ons. I was very bored of it long before it was over. And I thought half of a yellow sun was one of the best books I read the year it was published.

You're right but I still am lovig it, even as an essay.