Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Apr 2013 · HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

‘A delicious, important novel’ The Times

‘Alert, alive and gripping’ Independent

‘Some novels tell a great story and others make you change the way you look at the world. Americanah does both.’ Guardian

As teenagers in Lagos, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America. There she suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze 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.

Thirteen years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a blogger. But after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?

Fearless, gripping, spanning three continents and numerous lives, the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning ‘Americanah’ is a richly told story of love and expectation set in today’s globalized world.

Ratings and reviews

Easy to read and very funny. I love the way Chimamanda has perceived and looked at the Africans from the diaspora and the Africans from home. Those who have never left the country. My only critic is that they are quite a lot of characters and one has to pray attention in order to follow every character stories. I would recommend this book!!!

I was so angry and dissatisfied with how the story ended, but that's the mark of a good book, gets you emotionally engaged the characters' life. Complex characters dealing with complex life, an honest portrayal of the immigrant/returnee lifestyle, great book (but clearly I could have written a better ending!!! :D )

An enthralling, whirlwind story. Impossible to put down, had my heart racing (the last chapters especially), ending in happy tears. Absolutely loved it from start to finish!

About the author

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. Her first novel ‘Purple Hibiscus’ was published in 2003 and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Her second novel ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ won the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. Her short story collection, ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’, was published to critical acclaim in 2009. Her work has been selected by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the BBC Short Story Awards, has appeared in various literary publications, including Zoetrope and The Iowa Review. She won a MacArthur ‘genius’ grant in 2009, and in 2010 appeared on the New Yorker’s list of the best 20 writers under 40. Her third novel, ‘Americanah’, was published to widespread critical acclaim in 2013. She lives in Nigeria.