Karis 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.???

Karis People experience the world in different ways. This character's experience in America was about race, and for a black person in this country, it is im…morePeople experience the world in different ways. This character's experience in America was about race, and for a black person in this country, it is impossible to not have race be a part of their human experience. Us white people don't have to see the overt impact our race has on our lives - that is our privilege. Her story of understanding what it means to be black in America is the story. You may not identify with the characters or like the love story or see the multiple conflicts, but that doesn't make this book any less of a story. In fact, it kind of shows your privilege, that you don't see how a person will absolutely walk through the world differently (especially in the US) when they are black, or that it would be so important for all of us to learn about this type of experience, or that a person's story can be so entangled with their race in a country that still employs systematic and legal racism.(less)

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