Americanah is the third novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Upon its publication in 2013, the novel became a huge success. Adichie had already savored international recognition with The Other Half of the Sun and The Purple Hibiscus, but this time, Americanah takes her up to the top rank.
If you are interested in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's biography, you can click right here.
Back cover:
Americanah is the story of Ifemelu, a young Nigerian living in Lagos, the country's capital. At the end of his high school years, Ifemelu decided to emigrate to the United States to study at university. Living on the East Coast, between Boston, New York and Philadelphia, we will follow her adventures as a Black woman in a country where racism is more than present. On the other hand, we will also follow Obinze, his first love, who decided to leave for the United Kingdom, London more precisely, where everything will not go as planned.
Theme of the book:
To put it simply, Americanah is a story about ordinary racism in a Western country such as the United States. Also, we can strongly imagine that behind the character of Ifemelu hides a part of the author herself, who finally, lived the same story as her character.
Arriving in the United States as a student of humanities and political sciences, Ifemelu did not expect to be looked at in a strange way on the street. Until then, she had never been concerned about her skin color. Only, in the United States, it is not "normal" to be black. And she will quickly realize it.
Heroine of the blogosphere:
The novel begins as Ifemelu is getting her hair done in an Afro special shop. Several African women are present, of different origins. Another Nigerian woman, a Senegalese… Not all have the same vision of the United States and what its immigration means to it. This first discussion between women royally introduces the book: the author evokes with simplicity and cunning what is ordinary racism in a Western country, and what this last culture has made fit into the skull of African women. Indeed, one of the women thinks that the United States is better than her country of origin, more open, more developed etc … For his part, Ifemelu defends Nigeria, and the others do not understand. Ifemelu then realizes that being African here for too long has succeeded in changing the mentalities of the latter so that they come to denigrate themselves their countries.
From this discussion, Ifemelu will open a blog that will deal with race. Before arriving in the United States, she didn't even know what race was, she had never felt different. She had never had to go to the poorest neighborhoods to get her hair done: no Afro hairdresser on the streets of Manhattan.
Against all her expectations, the blog will become a real phenomenon and will make her star of the networks.
Why do we need to read this book?
Americanah tells with simplicity and accuracy the daily life of a black woman in a country dominated by whites. It also allows you to learn about the question (difference) of being Black in the United States when you are natif.ve of an African country or if you are African-American, descendant of slavery. The author paints a mural of our era where being a person of color in a country of whites is still not as easy as it seems.
People of color will find themselves in Ifemelu's life, and white people will realize what ordinary racism is, and will surely allow a reaction to the violence it causes for anyone who experiences it.
Hoping that it made you want to read it, we wish you beautiful readings!
