Increasing numbers of Americans have heard the name Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Originally from Nigeria, Adichie came to the United States for higher education. Her name has gained recognition and influence in recent years, largely in thanks to her nationally acclaimed novels and her prominent TED talk given in 2009 called “The Power of a Single Story” (a highly recommended talk, by the way, take some time to watch it). Adichie has a powerful way with words that is immediately evident on the first page—and the hundreds of pages that follow—of her novel “Americanah.”
Adichie crafts her novel in a fashion that is complicated, but sensible. She alternates between the perspectives of characters Ifemelu and Obinze, revealing stories of their pasts in conversation with the events of the present. Their narratives are woven together so the reader begins to understand where the two started and how they traversed the years to end up where they are, and only then does it continue into how Ifemelu and Obinze can move forward. Adichie’s talent and craft for storytelling is apparent, as the stories of both Ifemelu and Obinze are undeniably compelling, evoking compassion and complete emotional engagement.
Ifemelu is a young woman originally from Nigeria and now living in Princeton, New Jersey, having recently completed a fellowship at Princeton University. We meet Ifemelu on a day she goes to get her hair braided as she prepares for her move back to Nigeria. The details of her trip to the salon are interrupted by the story of her life up to this moment: leaving Nigeria, struggling in America, becoming successful and everything that has led to her upcoming return to Africa and to her former lover, Obinze.
We are then introduced to Obinze as he sits in traffic on his way home to his wife and child in Nigeria. His thoughts are in turmoil because of an email he’s received from Ifemelu. He doesn’t know how to feel about the return of the woman he once loved before time, distance and minimal contact tore them apart. We follow him through his dispassionate interactions with his wife, a slightly uneasy business party and his inner struggle surrounding Ifemelu.
As the novel progresses, we learn Obinze’s story of losing Ifemelu, encountering hardship while attempting to live in London and how he made a life for himself after being forced back to Nigeria.
Adichie’s impact isn’t limited to the stories of these characters; she also creates an entire commentary about the ideas and realities of race.
Part of Ifemelu’s success in the novel is due to her blog posts about race, a characteristic that Adichie utilizes to incorporate observations and arguments about the function of race in society into the story. This allows for Adichie’s discussion on the blatant presence of race and racism to take an explicit role in the novel and reach beyond the plot line into the minds and philosophies of readers.
Outside of Ifemelu’s blogging, Adichie doesn’t hold back or shy away from the complexities of race as her characters learn to live with the implications and prejudices that suddenly appear in countries dominated by those with white skin.
“Americanah” is a pressing story of dreams, fear, power and love. Adichie’s story forces readers to step out of their own skin and into that of another, granting permission for questions, revelations, compassion and consideration that extends past the final page into our own lives.
