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What Members Thought
This is a story about race, and love, and America. And it changes the way you see yourself and your country.
Ifemelu, a Nigerian woman, receives a scholarship to come to the States for undergrad. She leaves behind a serious boyfriend, Obinze, who aims to join her as soon as he can. When she gets to the States, however, she goes through some cultural shocks that change her relationship with Obinze. And after 9/11, Obinze has a hard time getting a visa to come to the States.
Ifemelu starts up a blo ...more
Ifemelu, a Nigerian woman, receives a scholarship to come to the States for undergrad. She leaves behind a serious boyfriend, Obinze, who aims to join her as soon as he can. When she gets to the States, however, she goes through some cultural shocks that change her relationship with Obinze. And after 9/11, Obinze has a hard time getting a visa to come to the States.
Ifemelu starts up a blo ...more
So much of this book resonated with me as someone living abroad, like in the beginning when she talks about how she "needed more years." But more importantly, even as a romance, the book takes an unflinching look at racism, immigration and class in the US (and privilege in Nigeria or other non-OECD countries, but I'll leave that issue to the Nigerians). It will probably make you uncomfortable, more than once, and that's the point.
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*changed my mind, upgraded from a 3 to a 4, realizing how much it stayed with me a week after reading.
*******
If there were pluses & minuses in Goodreads I'd likely give it a 4 minus rather than a 3. I mostly loved the first half, despite it breaking my literary bias against books with such modern details that they don't carry you away to a timeless place -- for this book, that was actually necessary, because the issues she's capturing really are specifically rooted in our current place and time. ...more
*******
If there were pluses & minuses in Goodreads I'd likely give it a 4 minus rather than a 3. I mostly loved the first half, despite it breaking my literary bias against books with such modern details that they don't carry you away to a timeless place -- for this book, that was actually necessary, because the issues she's capturing really are specifically rooted in our current place and time. ...more
This book was soooooosooooooo special and moving.
The story follows a Nigerian woman who moves to the US, and details her struggles and relationships. She talks a lot about race and what it means in the US, but I feel like the real story is about love and relationships and discovering what makes us feel good and not so good in our day to day lives.
My review does not do this book justice. I don't think it's for everyone (especially since it's 600 pages long), but it really is a wonderful book. ...more
The story follows a Nigerian woman who moves to the US, and details her struggles and relationships. She talks a lot about race and what it means in the US, but I feel like the real story is about love and relationships and discovering what makes us feel good and not so good in our day to day lives.
My review does not do this book justice. I don't think it's for everyone (especially since it's 600 pages long), but it really is a wonderful book. ...more
I didn't really buy the love story here, which I guess is the point of the book. Like another reviewer, I found Ifemelu and Obinze's story to be a bit sad by the end. I found the racial discussions interesting, and I guess I was in the minority that liked the blog posts interspersed. I also enjoyed seeing the US through the eyes of Ifemelu, though she was not always likable to others.
One minor point that I didn't love was that all of the white female characters were blond ice queens, fragile an ...more
One minor point that I didn't love was that all of the white female characters were blond ice queens, fragile an ...more
I was very very surprised to love this book as much as I did. I found Ifemelu to be a reliably frustrating character, but I still admired her. The least successful part of this book is the love story. Everything else is gorgeous.
Thought-provoking but uneven. Loved some of it, but can't rate it more than 3 stars overall. Should make for an interesting book club discussion, though.
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Jun 23, 2014
Alexis
marked it as to-read
Aug 18, 2014
Beth
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Jan 08, 2016
Mychal V
marked it as to-read
Jun 01, 2016
Rac
marked it as to-read
Jul 14, 2016
Leanne
marked it as to-read
Sep 27, 2018
Stacie
marked it as to-read
