From the Bookshelf of Diversity in All Forms!…

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Start date: February 1, 2017

Finish date: February 28, 2017

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: February theme/topic of Immigration Status.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Americanah by Chimaman…more
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Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Americanah

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What Members Thought

Mar 16, 2017 Mariah Roze rated it liked it

Shelves: diversity-in-all-forms-book-club

I read this book for the Goodread's book club Diversity in All Forms. If you would like to join the discussion the link is below.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Well this book took me forever to finish....

I started off really enjoying the book because it had highly developed characters. The author is a phenomenal writer and the book was extremely creative. At the beginning of the book I felt like I was learning a ton about Nigeria and about Nigerian people that move to the United States. I read this book for the Goodread's book club Diversity in All Forms. If you would like to join the discussion the link is below.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Well this book took me forever to finish....

I started off really enjoying the book because it had highly developed characters. The author is a phenomenal writer and the book was extremely creative. At the beginning of the book I felt like I was learning a ton about Nigeria and about Nigerian people that move to the United States. The book covered issues with the black and white conflict in the U.S. and also the African versus black American issue. The main character deals with wanting to fit in, but yet keep her culture strong in her life. The book goes through all the confusion in the difference of language (even though both countries speak English), life styles and ways, perspectives, and emotions.

Well then... almost exactly halfway through the book it started to feel long. I really enjoyed how the first part of the book I was learning a ton about different cultures and different countries through a story format, but in the second half of the book the author made the main character unlikable and unrealistic. She was very hard to relate to. She started putting down her friends and getting easily mad at others. There is also an extremely weird and disappointing love story at the end. I hate books that have cheating (especially when the significant other is a good person). The main character and her college boyfriend get back together... apparently. Neither of them think how this will affect his wife or his child. How can I root for these two to be together if that means that the little girl will lose her father and the wife will lose her husband? Tat was not realistic. Especially when the family is already decently happy. The moment that main character was willing to sleep with a married man, she loses the sympathy of a lot of readers. I would prefer to read something that presents the characters in a positive light.

The only thing that kept me going the second half of the book was the blog posts. I found those super interesting. The beginning of the book and the blog posts are the only reason this book achieved 3 stars from me. ...more

67 likes · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2018 Melania 🍒 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3,9/5

8 likes · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2019 Puck rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: people-of-colour, adult, contemporary

4 stars. Thanks to my buddy-read, reading this book became so much better! I did not love this novel as much as Half of a Yellow Sun - the characters were much stronger in that book than here - but the message and the info written about racism was so good and raw and A+.
This book felt the most personal to me, and made me reflect and think about the world nowadays. Great work again Adichie :)

Review to come! ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2014 Gisela Hafezparast rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

Definitely one of the best books I read so far this year. Good observations about immigration and the need for immigration as well as race from an African point of view. Excellent insights into part of Nigerian life. Adichie as always is not afraid to pick up difficult subjects, but manages to discuss them whilst telling a real good story. Highly recommend this book.

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Mar 06, 2017 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, general-fiction, read-harder-challenge-2017, diaf

“She rested her head against his and felt, for the first time, what she would often feel with him: a self-affection. He made her like herself.”

So. This book took me for-ev-er to finish. Over a month in fact. Normally, for me, that indicates that I don’t really like the book. In this case, that is only partly true. And before you jump down my throat, hear me out.

The first three quarters of this book were incredibly slowly-paced, and I tend to read right before I go to bed. So, sleepy me plus slow book equals not a great combination. However, during that slowly-paced adventure, the main character in this novel, Ifemelu (Ifem), goes through quite an incredible journey.

You may already know this, but the book begins just before the end. Ifem is in the States and is preparing to move back to Nigeria. Then the book jumps backward in time to when Ifem was growing up in Nigeria. Her transition to the States was not easy at all. She faced many hardships, and I don’t think she ever truly felt she belonged. Having never been an ex-pat, I have no idea what it must feel like to try to make somewhere foreign feel like home. To adjust to new customs, new foods, new language. On top of that, Ifem could not work legally and her money problems were no joke. It’s amazing that she didn’t completely implode under all that pressure. Eventually she finds her feet and starts a blog about race. It’s incredibly popular, and she’s able to make a living writing and giving talks at universities.

As much as I was impressed by her character, I was often disappointed. It seemed like her whole worth was wrapped up in her relationships. And that was just irritating.

The meat of the book starts with Ifemelu’s relationship with Blaine. At this point we start to read the majority of Ifem’s blog posts. The blog posts really elevate this work for me. They get at the heart of her experience as an immigrant and as a black woman — of what it means to have to deal with race/ the way someone looks every single day. That is something I, as a white woman, will never fully understand. But it is something I can be more aware of and not shy away from, as I think many white people are inclined to do.

There’s a point in the book where Ifem is talking about how no one wants to talk about race, and that is so true. It’s uncomfortable and we all shove it down. I know I’ve avoided it before, but that doesn’t help anything. Avoidance never solves anything.

Here is a quote from the section of the book I mentioned above:

And we don’t want them to say, Look how far we’ve come, just forty years ago it would have been illegal for us to even be a couple blah blah blah, because you know what we’re thinking when they say that? We’re thinking why the fuck should it ever have been illegal anyway? But we don’t say any of this stuff. We let it pile up inside our heads and when we come to nice liberal dinners like this, we say that race doesn’t matter because that’s what we’re supposed to say, to keep our nice liberal friends comfortable. It’s true. I speak from experience.

I hope to the gods that I’m never one of these “nice liberal friends”. I never want a friend of mine to feel uncomfortable talking about something that matters to them, makes them uncomfortable, makes them upset.

Let’s keep the conversation going. But on top of that, let’s be active participants in the things we believe in.

This book is insightful, and it’s certainly a conversation starter. It’s more than worth the read, even if it is slow. ...more

1 like · Like · see review