Paul 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.???

Paul Wow, did you actuall finish the book, I have, and I laughed and cried in equal measure as I read the final words.
She has written a powerful love story…moreWow, did you actuall finish the book, I have, and I laughed and cried in equal measure as I read the final words.
She has written a powerful love story and yet manages to show us how migration affects people emotionally.
The plot is strong, the characters real, and their stories believable.
It is not a thriller, and the so-called lectures are windows into the soul of the characters and of nation states.
At this moment when nationalism is a rising force this speaks of a power of love and is able to explain why the US still stutters to understand it's own racial history and present.
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