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Maxwell's Reviews > Americanah
Americanah
by
by
Maxwell's review
bookshelves: owned, favorites, black-authors
Feb 19, 2014
bookshelves: owned, favorites, black-authors
Reading for the 2nd time. Most recently started July 29, 2022.
Everyone should read this book.
Adichie has really hit her stride in this one. After having read and adored her previous works, I knew I would love this one, and it didn't disappoint. It is by far her best work, and you can see the progression of her writing skill in Americanah.
Characters are what Adichie does best. Her books become progressively less plot-driven, but her ability to engage the reader with flawed, true characters is where she excels. Ifemelu is brazen and perhaps, to some, unlikeable at times. She speaks her mind, and her blog posts, which Adichie utilizes to speak openly about race issues in America (never getting too preachy) are hard-hitting. Obinze is a bit more of a flat character in comparison to Ifemelu, but he is steady.
The narrative structure is loosely, based mainly around the framework of present-day Ifemelu returning home to Nigeria after over a decade in America. At times we also get flashbacks to her university life with Obinze, and his own storyline, though in less detail than Ifemelu.
Adichie's prose is infused with emotion; it is effusive and genuine. She is best when she is being philosophical. Often we get inside the characters mind, not only to hear what they are thinking but to understand how they are processing their thoughts and relating them to their general opinion of the world. We get more than just a flurry of consciousness with Adichie; we get parsed out wisdoms and failures, all from the minds of great characters.
Without a doubt I can say Adichie is one of my favorite authors of all time. I will automatically buy and read anything she releases, because she is just. that. good.
If you've yet to read anything buy her, I recommend starting with The Thing Around Your Neck which is a short story collection, or her first novel, Purple Hibiscus.
First read: February 17-22, 2015
Second read: December 18-23, 2016
Adichie has really hit her stride in this one. After having read and adored her previous works, I knew I would love this one, and it didn't disappoint. It is by far her best work, and you can see the progression of her writing skill in Americanah.
Characters are what Adichie does best. Her books become progressively less plot-driven, but her ability to engage the reader with flawed, true characters is where she excels. Ifemelu is brazen and perhaps, to some, unlikeable at times. She speaks her mind, and her blog posts, which Adichie utilizes to speak openly about race issues in America (never getting too preachy) are hard-hitting. Obinze is a bit more of a flat character in comparison to Ifemelu, but he is steady.
The narrative structure is loosely, based mainly around the framework of present-day Ifemelu returning home to Nigeria after over a decade in America. At times we also get flashbacks to her university life with Obinze, and his own storyline, though in less detail than Ifemelu.
Adichie's prose is infused with emotion; it is effusive and genuine. She is best when she is being philosophical. Often we get inside the characters mind, not only to hear what they are thinking but to understand how they are processing their thoughts and relating them to their general opinion of the world. We get more than just a flurry of consciousness with Adichie; we get parsed out wisdoms and failures, all from the minds of great characters.
Without a doubt I can say Adichie is one of my favorite authors of all time. I will automatically buy and read anything she releases, because she is just. that. good.
If you've yet to read anything buy her, I recommend starting with The Thing Around Your Neck which is a short story collection, or her first novel, Purple Hibiscus.
First read: February 17-22, 2015
Second read: December 18-23, 2016
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Reading Progress
February 19, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 19, 2014
– Shelved
March 17, 2014
– Shelved as:
owned
February 17, 2015
–
Started Reading
February 17, 2015
–
8.18%
"I can already tell I'm going to love this, and I'm going to want to read it slowly and savor it (but I won't be able to put it down). Adichie, as always, has a knack for creating such dynamic characters; they're so fully realized. I feel as though I already know Ifemelu & Obinze."
page
39
February 18, 2015
–
11.53%
"Goodness, her writing is so emotive. Love Ifemelu and Uju's relationship already."
page
55
February 18, 2015
–
33.75%
"The discussion of race in the college classroom and the use of the N-word was so interesting! I love this so much."
page
161
February 19, 2015
–
49.9%
"The contrast in Obinze (UK) and Ifemelu's (USA) storylines is interesting. I'm curious how they will intersect later."
page
238
February 21, 2015
–
77.36%
"I got chills in the last 20 pages or so. This book is amazing."
page
369
February 22, 2015
–
91.4%
""But of course it makes sense because we are Third Worlders and Third Worlders are forward-looking, we like things to be new, because our best is still ahead, while in the West their best is already past and so they have to make a fetish of the past.""
page
436
February 22, 2015
–
Finished Reading
August 18, 2015
– Shelved as:
favorites
June 18, 2020
– Shelved as:
black-authors
July 29, 2022
–
Started Reading
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by
tabitha
(new)
Feb 24, 2015 01:20PM
really that good
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Great review - starting it tonight!
