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bookappetit's review
5.0
This book left me speechless.
2nd time: still beautiful and perfect and lovely in every way.
2nd time: still beautiful and perfect and lovely in every way.
bajidc's review
3.0
Likable writing and unlikable characters. Relatable and not. Interesting and novel but dragging in parts.
lavidaenquotes's review
4.0
4,75* only because there was this thing that left me somewhat underwhelmed but I can't bring myself to rate it 4,5* - it doesn't seem fair.
More to come.
More to come.
sookieskipper's review
4.0
Yes, it sounds like a highly opinionated piece.
Yes, it sounds like bunch of essays with handful of characters thrown in.
Yes, it definitely has essays on racial problems in America.
Yes, the central character ends up living in Nigeria is indeed better for her.
Yes, the narrative is chunky, clunky at places and awkward for most part.
Yes, the characters can go from being adorable to annoying in matter of few pages.
Yes, there isn't really a love story as it says on the blurb.
It is all that and its not just that. This book extrapolates an idea or a hypothesis that gets thrown in during race discussion. The observations the central character, Ifem, makes seem awfully naive at the beginning. The newness of America, of immigration, alienation, rediscovering personal identity and growing up. The book progresses with Ifem's memories of living in Nigeria, looking at the world as a sinewy teen, falling in love with a boy who likes trashy American pulp fiction, seeing and not understanding tremulous political discord, aunties with questionable relationships, poverty and a hope to get away from it all.
Adichie explores race in America by giving Ifem friends and lovers who are stand-ins for an idea/ideology that still exists today; a white lover is indifferent to her race, a black boyfriend has too many differentiating parameters to identify himself and racial issues, a white employer finds Ifem exotic, a black man tells her to call herself black and not associate the part of Africa she represents. Adichie throws it all back in the third act of this novel when Ifem lands in Nigeria and makes one of the first observations "Everyone is black". It shouldn't feel as satisfactory as it sounds but it does. As I represent a non-white race, I completely understand the emotion of walking among people who look like you (may not talk like you but still) and don't give you a second glance.
Ifem's boyfriend Obinze moves to the UK for a little while before returning to Nigeria and settling down with a young woman. If Ifem represents the ideas, Obinze is representative of changing Nigerian economy. With expansion of middle class, Obinze finds himself lucky and becomes rich. His story is awfully clunky and Adichie doesn't spend much time on him. This could have lengthened the novel but could have provided a multiple perspective of race and character movement in same timelines. For what it's worth, their love story isn't entirely enjoyable.
Ifem's connection to people is the weakest aspect of her character. It is difficult to navigate what little life we have with the kind of cool detachment that Ifem at times exhibits. It is almost as if she is a stand-in for Adichie who is observing the lives of these people and relationships that Ifem involves herself in. This third-party observation technique is quite weary and it happens several time in the course of the book. One time when she and her (black) boyfriend meet up with friends, there is discussion of racism in America and African identity over dinner. She doesn't contribute much and all her arguments to counter others are in her head or goes into her blog. Ifem that way can be annoying without a voice but it does make for an interesting narrative.
Adichie writes with an envious ease and poignant grace. Romance isn't her strongest suite but she doesn't shy away from it. The awkwardness of romance works in this case as it deals with Ifem's alienation from her homeland. This novel is a bit fiction and mostly social commentary. Its a little happy and mostly sad. Its quite melancholic and surprisingly intelligent. And all of that are okay.
Yes, it sounds like bunch of essays with handful of characters thrown in.
Yes, it definitely has essays on racial problems in America.
Yes, the central character ends up living in Nigeria is indeed better for her.
Yes, the narrative is chunky, clunky at places and awkward for most part.
Yes, the characters can go from being adorable to annoying in matter of few pages.
Yes, there isn't really a love story as it says on the blurb.
It is all that and its not just that. This book extrapolates an idea or a hypothesis that gets thrown in during race discussion. The observations the central character, Ifem, makes seem awfully naive at the beginning. The newness of America, of immigration, alienation, rediscovering personal identity and growing up. The book progresses with Ifem's memories of living in Nigeria, looking at the world as a sinewy teen, falling in love with a boy who likes trashy American pulp fiction, seeing and not understanding tremulous political discord, aunties with questionable relationships, poverty and a hope to get away from it all.
Adichie explores race in America by giving Ifem friends and lovers who are stand-ins for an idea/ideology that still exists today; a white lover is indifferent to her race, a black boyfriend has too many differentiating parameters to identify himself and racial issues, a white employer finds Ifem exotic, a black man tells her to call herself black and not associate the part of Africa she represents. Adichie throws it all back in the third act of this novel when Ifem lands in Nigeria and makes one of the first observations "Everyone is black". It shouldn't feel as satisfactory as it sounds but it does. As I represent a non-white race, I completely understand the emotion of walking among people who look like you (may not talk like you but still) and don't give you a second glance.
Ifem's boyfriend Obinze moves to the UK for a little while before returning to Nigeria and settling down with a young woman. If Ifem represents the ideas, Obinze is representative of changing Nigerian economy. With expansion of middle class, Obinze finds himself lucky and becomes rich. His story is awfully clunky and Adichie doesn't spend much time on him. This could have lengthened the novel but could have provided a multiple perspective of race and character movement in same timelines. For what it's worth, their love story isn't entirely enjoyable.
Ifem's connection to people is the weakest aspect of her character. It is difficult to navigate what little life we have with the kind of cool detachment that Ifem at times exhibits. It is almost as if she is a stand-in for Adichie who is observing the lives of these people and relationships that Ifem involves herself in. This third-party observation technique is quite weary and it happens several time in the course of the book. One time when she and her (black) boyfriend meet up with friends, there is discussion of racism in America and African identity over dinner. She doesn't contribute much and all her arguments to counter others are in her head or goes into her blog. Ifem that way can be annoying without a voice but it does make for an interesting narrative.
Adichie writes with an envious ease and poignant grace. Romance isn't her strongest suite but she doesn't shy away from it. The awkwardness of romance works in this case as it deals with Ifem's alienation from her homeland. This novel is a bit fiction and mostly social commentary. Its a little happy and mostly sad. Its quite melancholic and surprisingly intelligent. And all of that are okay.
crankyoldqueer's review
5.0
I loved this book. I feel like I've lived someone else's life, learned so much from living in someone else's head.
athenalindia's review
4.0
I've now read two Chimamanda Adichie novels in the last month or so. Before that, she was an author entirely new to me. I'm now in an awkward position where I liked this book a lot better than Half of a Yellow Sun, on a level of pure enjoyment, but probably think Half of a Yellow Sun is a more important book.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
mara0b's review
4.0
I really loved this book!
I think it was well balanced, the more "essay" parts didn't weigh down the book for me, I was actually really interested by that.
I think it's a good book if you are just starting to read books that deal with racism in such an open way, if you're a bit more educated on the "topic" you could find it a bit too simple.
The only downside was that sometimes I didn't like Ifemelu's point of view of life situations/people and found her to be a bit entitled (for example (possible spoilers): the scene at the braiding salon and Ifemelu's demands to Obinze at the end of the book)
Another thing I was not really convinced of was the mentioning of depression. I am not saying that when an author gives to one of their characters a mental illness it has to become the whole focus point of that character, but I would have loved to see it a bit more explained and not just used as a plot device.
I think it was well balanced, the more "essay" parts didn't weigh down the book for me, I was actually really interested by that.
I think it's a good book if you are just starting to read books that deal with racism in such an open way, if you're a bit more educated on the "topic" you could find it a bit too simple.
The only downside was that sometimes I didn't like Ifemelu's point of view of life situations/people and found her to be a bit entitled (for example (possible spoilers): the scene at the braiding salon and Ifemelu's demands to Obinze at the end of the book)
Another thing I was not really convinced of was the mentioning of depression. I am not saying that when an author gives to one of their characters a mental illness it has to become the whole focus point of that character, but I would have loved to see it a bit more explained and not just used as a plot device.