Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Americanah” gained acclaim for being one of the first novels to discuss what it means to come to America and discover blackness here as an immigrant from an African nation. Not unlike America itself, this book is a mixed bag of so many different things.
The 600-page novel has every possible theme you could imagine encapsulated within it. Multiple love stories, familial issues, growing up in an age of technology, and questions of identity circulate around the main character, Ifemelu, as she follows her own unique immigrant narrative from Lagos, Nigeria to the United States, and ultimately back to Lagos again.
Adichie’s novel works because it is relatable. It’s not the kind of novel that isolates certain readers while welcoming others in. This novel takes place on three different continents: Africa, North America, and Europe. No matter where you’re from, or what your background is, it isn’t difficult to find an accessible pathway into the novel.
And once you’re in, you won’t want to leave.
Readers become quickly tied up in Ifemelu’s blog posts, in which she discusses her observations as a “non-American black” in America. This aspect of the novel, which clearly makes a point about the current racial climate of the United States, could stand alone as a book.
But Ifemelu’s life is not solely comprised of racial unrest; she is a complicated human with many different facets to her personality. For those less interested in racial politics, the book is just as inviting, as we learn about other aspects of Ifemelu’s life, including her relationships with three different men, her friends, her aunt, and her nephew.
In the current racial and political climate the United States is in, reading a novel that doesn’t reiterate a redundant race narrative is hard to come by. This book is important because it succeeds in showing that racial/national issues can be more complex than one might think. Adichie successfully shows that race is not necessarily at the core of a person, but that race can affect the way people’s lives play out. This chronicle should absolutely be read and understood.
Reach Opinion Editor Rebecca Gross at arts@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @becsgross
