'In my very American way of starting sentences' So one day, I checked my twitter and this guy, this really cute guy (Ebuka, the dimple, as I like to refer to him) that I like to admire from afar was talking about this book that I had been hearing about, so decided to check it out...
Americanah! Americanah!! Americanah!!! I really enjoyed this book, where do I start? It addressed issues on race, family, love, hair, immigration, relationships, culture and self discovery. It was set around the love story of Ifemelu and Obinze, explaining the journey both of them passed through. Adichie exquisitely blended issues on race, immigration and hair, into this love story. The book was set in Nigeria, London and America.
As a Nigerian reading, I can't begin to explain the experience, feelings, and emotions that I established with this book. I was in heaven and this book was my mode. I had this feeling because, someone out there, told a story so close to mine, with such conviction and that meant the world to me. It felt surreal that the writer was speaking a language I understood, that the context I was creating in my head while reading the book was close to what the writer was thinking while writing. I enjoy foreign books, but while reading I knew my imagination, my perception of what I was reading was far from what the writer was explaining. I had grown to accept those boundaries because that was all I knew. Having that this is the first book I read by Adichie, those boundaries were broken and I loved it.
The strong point in my opinion in this book, were the extra ordinary attention to details, Adichie incorporated. Adichie expressed that it took five years to write the book, and I saw why. She created a very strong description of characters, settings, context, and the necessary background information for the readers. She did not compromise details, culture and language for the readers that might not understand, because she used an abundance of that in the book.
I often got tired of reading the blog entries and details in the book, because I was more interested in knowing how the characters Ifemelu and Obinze would end up (yeah I am a sucker for romance). Did I read the blogs? yeah! I did. Even though I wanted to skip through them sometimes, I still did. The blogs challenged some of the life philosophies I was building on,philosophies I had come to accept. 'America had made me "lazy" with my dreams, self worth, and expectations. While i'm on the topic of things I didn't like, I absolutely hated the ending of the book. It was a mixture of knowing the book had ended... well, let me correct that, it was MOSTLY that the book had ended and knowing that I was not satisfied with how Adichie left me hanging with the undeveloped ending. I cried! No I really did, 'in my American way of ending sentences.'
If you have read the book, what do you think?
The strong point in my opinion in this book, were the extra ordinary attention to details, Adichie incorporated. Adichie expressed that it took five years to write the book, and I saw why. She created a very strong description of characters, settings, context, and the necessary background information for the readers. She did not compromise details, culture and language for the readers that might not understand, because she used an abundance of that in the book.
I often got tired of reading the blog entries and details in the book, because I was more interested in knowing how the characters Ifemelu and Obinze would end up (yeah I am a sucker for romance). Did I read the blogs? yeah! I did. Even though I wanted to skip through them sometimes, I still did. The blogs challenged some of the life philosophies I was building on,philosophies I had come to accept. 'America had made me "lazy" with my dreams, self worth, and expectations. While i'm on the topic of things I didn't like, I absolutely hated the ending of the book. It was a mixture of knowing the book had ended... well, let me correct that, it was MOSTLY that the book had ended and knowing that I was not satisfied with how Adichie left me hanging with the undeveloped ending. I cried! No I really did, 'in my American way of ending sentences.'
If you have read the book, what do you think?
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