Farhanah Wyse answers “Why is this book so popular when it is a...”

Citizen asked this question about Americanah:

Why is this book so popular when it is a lengthy, rambling mess of stories interspersed with lectures about race, society and culture? What happened to the idea of a great STORY, characters the reader can care about, conflict, rising action, etc.???

Farhanah Wyse I don’t really know why you don’t see the greatness of this book and why you don’t really care about the characters but this book does have rising act…moreI don’t really know why you don’t see the greatness of this book and why you don’t really care about the characters but this book does have rising action and conflicts but it can;t easily be detected by everyone because of it’s unconventional narrative or plot structure. For a book to be great in the eyes of a reader, it takes the connection a reader makes with the book. Does he see what the author saw when he or she was writing the book?. Does the reader understand which angle the author is coming from?. It's all about that and if you can find the deeper meaning or message of the book. This is a great book in every way but not everyone can see that.

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