Americanah in The Roundtable

Jan 09, 2017 Elise rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2010s, read-in-2017, fiction, women, club

Disappointing after the pretty good Half a Yellow Sun. American black vs non-American black experiences and returning changed to your birth country are interesting and worthwhile topics, but this lacks sufficient depth. The narrative aspect drags with one boring relationship after another, and the blog entries are a facile way to pontificate without working the ideas contained therein into the narrative. Most of the white characters show up for a single scene to drop off some easily dismissed, r ...more

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Jan 26, 2018 Meghan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, american, own, favorites, africa, dmbc, award-winning

If I am truly honest, this is more a 4-4.5 star for me. And that has a lot to do with the end because I was a little let down by it because I felt she took the easy way out. But I can’t really say that I believe that 100% because I have a niggling feeling in the back of my head the ending is more truthful than I want to give it.

This was two stories for me. One is probably why so many people love it (or hate it). It’s her p.o.v. as a non-American Black. And reading this now (vs when it was first If I am truly honest, this is more a 4-4.5 star for me. And that has a lot to do with the end because I was a little let down by it because I felt she took the easy way out. But I can’t really say that I believe that 100% because I have a niggling feeling in the back of my head the ending is more truthful than I want to give it.

This was two stories for me. One is probably why so many people love it (or hate it). It’s her p.o.v. as a non-American Black. And reading this now (vs when it was first published in 2013) makes her observations really relevant and timely for me. I kept posting quotes that just struck me as truthful in my experiences as a minority straddling the line that we do as hyphenated Americans.

The other story, which is what I think was why so many friends did not connect with, is her journey as an ex-pat. And having returned to the US after living in China for the past 10 years, this is what I related to even more. The culture shock. The navigating the social rules. The hiding of yourself in order to fit in and the relief of being able to breathe when you are with your “own kind”. But the ending, which I struggled with, is more real my personal experiences moving home than I want to admit. The need to relieve the past but the weariness of it being the only thing that remains between you and your friends who knew you before. The realization that no one, and I mean no one, wants to hear about your life while you were away—the skirting of it, the distain, and the general lack of interest. The relief and sense of being able to breathe when you talk to other ex-pats who “get it”. But you move forwards and you relearn the steps and you find more in common with the old friends and you make new friends and life returns to a new normal. And this is where I am on the fence as to whether Adichie cheated or not. (view spoiler) ...more

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Mar 28, 2014 Rachel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, africa, libraryebook

I was all set to give this 3 stars. A good three stars, but three stars. She's an excellent writer, all of her stories seem so true. I wasn't absolutely impressed until I really fell for the love story.

Also: Obi Mu O is an amazing song. I looked it up on Youtube to see if it was real and fell in love with it. I may not listen to another song in at least 2.5 weeks!

Ok no, I changed it back to 3 stars. It's hard to say what is dragging me down on this one, it's like I liked what she had to say, bu ...more

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Jun 19, 2014 Kai Coates rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: s14-bookish-challenge

I almost rated this book five stars because I loved the characters and Adichie's writing. It lost a star towards the last third of the book. I felt that Ifemelu's time with Blaine was drawn out to give Adichie more time to expound on race relations in America. Her perspective was one of the things I loved best about the book, but that section became kind of preachy for me. I also thought both her American boyfriends, Blaine and Curt, were more stereotypes than actual characters.

The parts I loved ...more

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May 14, 2013 Heather(Gibby) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-to-read

I really enjoyed this story told mainly from the point of view of a woman who immigrates from Nigeria to America and then moves back to Nigeria. There are some very pointed commentary on race in this book, told from the perspective of the black immigrant. I appreciated the frank, straight talk in this book, especially the excerpts from Ifemelu's blog. Although as a white person, I could not relate to all the perspectives in this book, it made me think about some of the things I take for granted ...more

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Jan 08, 2015 Rosana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio-books, 2015

To say that Americanah shines as a commentary on race and class is an easy statement, but what really impressed me was the scope of Adichie’s attempt in this book, and that she does keep it together to the end. Adichie manages to bring to life so many characters with diverse backgrounds. Most characters do have race in common, however their histories and backgrounds are distinct, and this is what – I think – she set herself to demonstrate.

Other reviewers complain that as a love story this boo ...more

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Jan 21, 2019 Janice (JG) rated it really liked it

4 1/2 stars - 5 stars for concept, writing style, format, and information. 4 stars for an ending that fell short of my expectations. The plot and storyline worked right up until the last quarter of the book... but everything else (see other reviewers providing summaries and more detail) was so captivating and illuminating that the weaknesses don't really matter. Highly recommended. ...more

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