Americanah
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- Create Date：2021-09-16 09:53:55
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- ISBN：0307271080
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Summary
From the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun， a dazzling new novel: a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they com to call home。
As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school， Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love。 Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship， and people are leaving the country if they can。 Ifemelu--beautiful， self-assured--departs for American to study。 She suffers defeats and triumphs， finds and loses relationships and friendships， all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home; race。 Obinze--the quiet， thoughtful son of a professor--had hoped to join her， but post-9/11 America will not let him in， and he plunges into a dangerous， undocumented life in London。
Years later， Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria， while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America。 But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria， and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion--for their homeland and for each other--they will face the toughest decisions of their lives。
Fearless， gripping， at once darkly funny and tender， spanning three continents and numerous lives， Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's most powerful and astonishing novel yet。
（front flap）
As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school， Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love。 Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship， and people are leaving the country if they can。 Ifemelu--beautiful， self-assured--departs for American to study。 She suffers defeats and triumphs， finds and loses relationships and friendships， all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home; race。 Obinze--the quiet， thoughtful son of a professor--had hoped to join her， but post-9/11 America will not let him in， and he plunges into a dangerous， undocumented life in London。
Years later， Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria， while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America。 But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria， and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion--for their homeland and for each other--they will face the toughest decisions of their lives。
Fearless， gripping， at once darkly funny and tender， spanning three continents and numerous lives， Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's most powerful and astonishing novel yet。
（front flap）
Reviews
Gloria Cheng
，
Wow。 After 3 years of watching this book sit on my bookshelf waiting to be read， I decided it was time and have emerged from it speechless。 This book delivers one meaty punch that there is something for everyone to relate to and find within themselves。 Trust me， this book will make you a better reader and person。 Definitely the longest book I’ve read in a while which made me enjoy the slowly building， drawn out trip this story takes you on。Above all， I am most impressed by Chimamanda’s writing a Wow。 After 3 years of watching this book sit on my bookshelf waiting to be read， I decided it was time and have emerged from it speechless。 This book delivers one meaty punch that there is something for everyone to relate to and find within themselves。 Trust me， this book will make you a better reader and person。 Definitely the longest book I’ve read in a while which made me enjoy the slowly building， drawn out trip this story takes you on。Above all， I am most impressed by Chimamanda’s writing and her humble ability to make her characters feel so real and alive with nuance without feeling the need to impress and embellish。 With that said， she does not hold back on showing her advanced knowledge of the English language - I learned many new words and my book is destroyed with underlines。 A book that I am sad I can never read again for the first time。 。。。more
Sabina
，
This book has everything。 Culture and history， especially related to race， are main characters of this book; the actual main character has a wonderfully described growth and has some great psychological depth。 This story is so real， with all its contradictions and conflicts， and all the ugliness that exists within us and in the world。 The writing style is the cherry on top。
Léo
，
Wow。 One of those again。 Similar to how “Girl， Women， Other” floored me， “Americanah” is another incredible book that will stick with my for a very， very long time。 It’s the first book I read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie， and I’m already so excited to read her other books。 Ela， my mum and sister had all read this one， and they all loved it。 She’s one of Ela’s favourite authors and I can safely say she’s also one of mine now。 This story feels so real， so genuine， so raw and out of that comes beaut Wow。 One of those again。 Similar to how “Girl， Women， Other” floored me， “Americanah” is another incredible book that will stick with my for a very， very long time。 It’s the first book I read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie， and I’m already so excited to read her other books。 Ela， my mum and sister had all read this one， and they all loved it。 She’s one of Ela’s favourite authors and I can safely say she’s also one of mine now。 This story feels so real， so genuine， so raw and out of that comes beauty。 I can’t recommend this book highly enough 。。。more
Adam Bear
，
i don’t even have words it’s so good
Stormi Epps
，
Complications of LoveEnjoyed this document of life thru the African mind set ，peppered by experiences in other lands。 Rich characters and emotions of love。 I am saddened by the end。 Looking forward to reading more from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ash Morgan
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is a big ol' book！ Following a young Nigerian couple as they move from home and away from each other。Primarily dealing with themes of race and class。 The book showed the interesting discussion of race in Nigeria and the US。 In many ways I found the more secondary characters more interesting - the aunt and cousin in the US and a few of the school friends who make the odd appearance。The topic of class is a less neatly discussed。 The main character comes across as quite elitist and I found it This is a big ol' book！ Following a young Nigerian couple as they move from home and away from each other。Primarily dealing with themes of race and class。 The book showed the interesting discussion of race in Nigeria and the US。 In many ways I found the more secondary characters more interesting - the aunt and cousin in the US and a few of the school friends who make the odd appearance。The topic of class is a less neatly discussed。 The main character comes across as quite elitist and I found it difficult to tell if the character was suppose to be that way or if it was accidental or if the author's own biases were showing？I wasn't overly keen on the romance at the end of the book。 And while I generally enjoy the authors writing style I wasn't particularly found of the blog excerpts - they felt like they rehashed topics already discussed in the chapter。I feel that the book was a bit bloated and maybe would have benefited from dropping an idea or 2 to give the rest of the story room to breath a bit 。。。more
Enrico
，
Bello e interessante per quanto riguarda ciò che concerne la razza， l'essere emigrante （ed immigrante）， povero o ricco， radical-chic o volgare arricchito。 La storia d'amore tra Ifemelu e Obinze， a mio modestissimo parere， inizia bene e poi diviene insopportabile， ma più che altro perché Obinze e Ifemulu alla fine si rivelano per quello che sono: due antipatici， immaturi e spocchiosi stronzetti。 Bello e interessante per quanto riguarda ciò che concerne la razza， l'essere emigrante （ed immigrante）， povero o ricco， radical-chic o volgare arricchito。 La storia d'amore tra Ifemelu e Obinze， a mio modestissimo parere， inizia bene e poi diviene insopportabile， ma più che altro perché Obinze e Ifemulu alla fine si rivelano per quello che sono: due antipatici， immaturi e spocchiosi stronzetti。 。。。more
Anna Moore
，
this is my favorite book
Steve
，
I still prefer Adichie's short stories but she remains an incredible stylist with wonderful phrasing and talent for finding depths and descriptions of characters。She finds her truest voice with Ifemelu， and the Obinze sections， while helping to fill out the tale， feel a bit more forced。 But the opening is beautiful and the quiet moments are wonderful。It is odd to read the Obama-era hope and the frankly didactic race blogging in the 2020s but the whiff of so-recent nostalgia does make you smile。 I still prefer Adichie's short stories but she remains an incredible stylist with wonderful phrasing and talent for finding depths and descriptions of characters。She finds her truest voice with Ifemelu， and the Obinze sections， while helping to fill out the tale， feel a bit more forced。 But the opening is beautiful and the quiet moments are wonderful。It is odd to read the Obama-era hope and the frankly didactic race blogging in the 2020s but the whiff of so-recent nostalgia does make you smile。 It is not as bracing or subtle as it might have been written later。 A lot of what is presented as revelatory is more like， "yes。。。and？"It's a solid homecoming novel， and an epic romance with wonderful sense of place for both America and Nigeria。 It does drag， particularly the endless academic satire conversations with Wolfe-style studies of the blue bloods， and meanders its way to the satisfying ending a bit too labyrinthinely to really keep momentum。But Adichie's light touch at times and gorgeous prose and sense for herain character make it a very solid novel worth your time。 。。。more
Camila Costa
，
Três estrelas pode parecer uma nota baixa mas pra mim não é。 Três estrelas pra mim， é um livro que eu estava esperando bem mais e não correspondeu às expectativas。 Ao contrário de quatro estrelas， eu sei exatamente qual foi o problema aqui。 Não é tão grave quanto duas estrelas， três estrelas é algo mais pessoal mesmo。 Simplesmente não bateu。 A escrita de Chimamanda é sensacional， mas isso eu já sabia。 A maneira como ela usa metáforas e analogias para descrever os sentimentos é incrível。 Mas talv Três estrelas pode parecer uma nota baixa mas pra mim não é。 Três estrelas pra mim， é um livro que eu estava esperando bem mais e não correspondeu às expectativas。 Ao contrário de quatro estrelas， eu sei exatamente qual foi o problema aqui。 Não é tão grave quanto duas estrelas， três estrelas é algo mais pessoal mesmo。 Simplesmente não bateu。 A escrita de Chimamanda é sensacional， mas isso eu já sabia。 A maneira como ela usa metáforas e analogias para descrever os sentimentos é incrível。 Mas talvez eu prefira as histórias mais curtas que ela escreve。 Americanah tem mais de 500 páginas。 Isso já é considerado um livro enorme， até quando o roteiro é denso， pesado， quando tem muita coisa acontecendo ou várias perspectivas。 So que não é o caso aqui。 Pra mim o mais difícil desse livro é que ele não tem uma narrativa forte。 Não tô falando da história da personagem ou das dificuldades que ela passa， tô falando do poder de contar uma história mesmo。 Aquele sentimento de querer ler mais um capítulo， de não conseguir parar， de ansiar para o que ia acontecer… ele nunca veio。 Os capítulos iniciam geralmente com uma “temática” e ao final， encerram também aquela temática。 No outro capítulo a personagem já aborda outro problema， outra situação， outro personagem。 Um capítulo ela debate sobre racismo nos Estados Unidos。 No outro sobre a dificuldade de arranjar emprego。 No outro sobre um relacionamento。 Aquela continuidade da história não tem aqui。 E nada contra histórias desse tipo， só que elas geralmente não precisam de 500 páginas pra acontecer。 Isso talvez até seja mais um problema de edição do que escrita。 Tinha alguns capítulos que era muito difícil se concentrar porque eu não via justificativa nenhuma pra eles existirem。 Porém， o que realmente gostei foram os temas tratados aqui。 A autora compara a realidade da Nigéria com a dos eua， enquanto debate sobre racismo， sobre feminismo， família， depressão。 Por conta disso， acho que o livro se torna uma obra tão marcante e tão necessária。 Apesar de não ter funcionado muito comigo， eu ainda indicaria para qualquer pessoa。 。。。more
Cyril N
，
Très beau roman， qui aborde beaucoup de sujets profonds sur la société américaine， britannique et nigérienne， tout en nous emportant dans une histoire d'amour simple et complexe à la fois。 Très beau roman， qui aborde beaucoup de sujets profonds sur la société américaine， britannique et nigérienne， tout en nous emportant dans une histoire d'amour simple et complexe à la fois。 。。。more
Kathi
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Sehr gutes und kluges Buch！Ich glaub allerdings nicht an das Konstrukt "Liebe des Lebens"。 Vielleicht ist das der Grund， warum ich mir ein anderes - weniger happy endiges - Ende gewünscht hätte。 Wäre mir konsequenter vorgekommen， aber vielleicht fehlt mir auch einfach die romantische Ader lol Sehr gutes und kluges Buch！Ich glaub allerdings nicht an das Konstrukt "Liebe des Lebens"。 Vielleicht ist das der Grund， warum ich mir ein anderes - weniger happy endiges - Ende gewünscht hätte。 Wäre mir konsequenter vorgekommen， aber vielleicht fehlt mir auch einfach die romantische Ader lol 。。。more
Jon Paul Roberts
，
this novel is something else， truly。
Chloe
，
Ah！ I forgot to write my review。 I think I liked it because it made me remember the disconnect between cultures and being born in a different place。
Hélène Lamboley
，
Un livre incisif， drôle et qui apporte un point de vue tout à fait original sur les questions de race， le sort des immigrés économiques d’Afrique en Europe et en Amérique， la spécificité de l’expérience d’une femme noire africaine aux Etats-Unis。 C’est même une belle histoire d’amour。 Malgré la longueur， j’ai été happée （un peu lassée quand même， vers la fin， par la systématicité de la vision conflictuelle des questions de race aux Etats-Unis）
Joanne DeTurk
，
Loved！
Jennifer Trimbee
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I liked this book much more than I thought I would from reading some of the reviews on here。 I loved the transition of Ifem and Obinze from young kids in love to adults dealing with some of the heaviest parts of life。I also liked that the story really got into their time time apart instead of rushing them back together。 Curt was all right， but Blaine was extremely pretentious and I didn’t like him much at all。
Dee
，
Belonging， I felt from the book， is best to our selves， not to whatever group we are placed in。
Erin
，
I read Roxane Gay's review， and I completely agree。 I had to （more like chose to then decided I had to） read Americanah for my ninth grade summer reading， and it was okay。 By the time I finished， I was just done。 I didn't really care if Ifemelu did well or not or if she met Obinze again or not。 I just wanted to finish and be done and complete this 600 page book that was so elegantly， intelligently written and kind of fun in the beginning。 Only in the beginning。 I fell into it for hours at a time I read Roxane Gay's review， and I completely agree。 I had to （more like chose to then decided I had to） read Americanah for my ninth grade summer reading， and it was okay。 By the time I finished， I was just done。 I didn't really care if Ifemelu did well or not or if she met Obinze again or not。 I just wanted to finish and be done and complete this 600 page book that was so elegantly， intelligently written and kind of fun in the beginning。 Only in the beginning。 I fell into it for hours at a time when I first started。 But then I got demotivated and also kind of bored。 Not kind of bored， really bored。 I don't care if Obinze has problems 'cause he's rich。 I don't care if Ifemelu has relationship problems because she doesn't know who she is。 I cared about Dike a little bit。 I liked his ending， too。 The problem is that I cared about all of these things five times more in the first third/half。 The problem （just for me） is also that it really could have been edited a bit better; Adichie made the most beautiful sentences but she would write three beautiful sentences that all meant the same thing。 Just one beautiful sentence， please， and more beautiful sentences about other unique things。 During the reading process， I was slightly confused by the unchronological order， but afterwards， when I reflected （I don't normally reflect on books but this was for the summer reading school assignment） I actually thought it fit really well with the whole story and helped to make a good emphasis on certain aspects。 A particularly redeeming point of Americanah， however， was the diverse array of themes it covered–especially the experience of being an immigrant， and not only an immigrant， but a Black Nigerian trying to make her way in a society that revolves around race， where white people have power。 It's just that sometimes there was too much。 You can have the same messages and share the same themes with a more concise storyline that makes me genuinely care about the characters。 That's all。 So， overall， I think it's a great book， I just got tired of it。 Closer to 3。5 stars。 。。。more
Eila
，
Que precioso libro。Aunque es largo no se me hizo pesado， es una novela para tomarla con calma y atención， aunque la historia central es， sencillamente， un romance al paso del tiempo， está aderezado con muchos temas sumamente complejos y profundos que te llevan a la reflexión。
Avery Driver
，
4。5 ⭐️ I loved every second of this book。 The writing was beautiful， I felt incredibly attached to the characters， and coming back to this book every time I sat down to read felt oddly like coming home。 I love Ifemelu and Obinze’s story， and I love the perspective of race in America from a non-American black person。
Ted Zuschlag
，
unique and precious perspectives on living in Nigeria and New Jersey and 。。。what a fresh voice！i loved it
Luana
，
chimamanda es una escritora demasiado talentosa
Kristi
，
A brilliantly written book with sentences phrased so brilliantly that I want to hang them on my wall as art。 Deeply developed characters who allowed me to see new perspectives through their eyes: perspectives on race， religious fanaticism， politics， immigration; and who evoked deep within me an ocean of emotion。 A wonderful gift for storytelling， I can’t wait to read another by her。
Tamara
，
"Many stories matter。 Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign。 But stories can also be used to empower， and to humanize。 Stories can break the dignity of a people。 But stories can also repair that broken dignity。" -Chimamanda Adichie。While Americanah is a work of fiction， Ms。 Adichie imbues her writing with honest， astute and sometimes humorous observations about race， gender， relationships and the human condition。 I really enjoyed reading her perspective written through the main cha "Many stories matter。 Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign。 But stories can also be used to empower， and to humanize。 Stories can break the dignity of a people。 But stories can also repair that broken dignity。" -Chimamanda Adichie。While Americanah is a work of fiction， Ms。 Adichie imbues her writing with honest， astute and sometimes humorous observations about race， gender， relationships and the human condition。 I really enjoyed reading her perspective written through the main characters， Ifemelu and Obinze。This book helped me better understand American racism through the lens of a "Non-American Black。" Ifemelu talks about how she wasn't "Black" until she came to America because race wasn't an issue in her country and I have heard Ms。 Adichie say the same。Americanah also taught me a lot about Nigerian culture - I found myself looking up Igbo words and types of Nigerian food and Robb Balm as I read， and l listened to Nigerian music by artists mentioned in the book， like Obiwon， Onyeka Onwenu and Bracket。Overall， though， the thing I missed the most about the book after the story was over was Ifemelu and Obinze's beautiful love story that spanned three continents and a few decades。 I was satisfied with the ending of the book， but it left me wanting more - I want to know what came next for these characters I was so fond of。 I also wish Ifemelu's blog was real because I really enjoyed reading the blog posts throughout the book。 。。。more
Chris Peck
，
A masterpiece I'm shocked to only now be reading！ Powerful reflections on American culture and race relations along with the powerful story telling and the redemption of love。 A masterpiece I'm shocked to only now be reading！ Powerful reflections on American culture and race relations along with the powerful story telling and the redemption of love。 。。。more
Misha
，
A slog throughout， quit about 2/3 of the way through。 I can imagine an audience for this book but it isn't me。 A slog throughout， quit about 2/3 of the way through。 I can imagine an audience for this book but it isn't me。 。。。more
Bree
，
Brilliant， expansive， expressive and enlightening。 A beautiful and important read。
Natashaketel
，
A future classic。
Elizabeth
，
I loved the beginning of the book。 Nigeria is so foreign to me and I loved to learn a bit about the culture and country。 I loved her development of obinze and ifemalu。 But I felt betrayed once ifemalu was in the US。 I felt compassion for her difficulties， but grew to despise her as a person。 The main character was vacuous， never had any depth to emotion or character。 She had no loyalty， but demanded much。 Her blog was lackluster and sometimes incoherent。 I just didn’t understand her motives。 Her I loved the beginning of the book。 Nigeria is so foreign to me and I loved to learn a bit about the culture and country。 I loved her development of obinze and ifemalu。 But I felt betrayed once ifemalu was in the US。 I felt compassion for her difficulties， but grew to despise her as a person。 The main character was vacuous， never had any depth to emotion or character。 She had no loyalty， but demanded much。 Her blog was lackluster and sometimes incoherent。 I just didn’t understand her motives。 Her relationship with her cousin was almost redemptive， but later treatment of Obinze was unforgivable。 To avoid any spoilers， I’d just say any man that would treat a woman that way would be despicable， but somehow we were supposed to admire her？ Beyond the main characters， I felt like her writing was great， the plot a bit wobbly and long in the middle。 I would say that the introduction and development of multiple characters that ended up making no contributions to the plot was baffling。 I like it enough，though， to give her another chance。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Americanah
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Americanah&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Americanah&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0