Reviews

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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sydnem's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

afterttherain's review against another edition

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4.0

[read for eng lit]
this was. absolutely. phenomenal.
(the lack of the final star is just because i feel like the ending is just a tiiiiny bit weak and it loses momentum sometimes) but overall this is such a beautifully crafted book - the details of the relationships between the characters, the conflict within the characters and beyond the characters, the mirror to /our/ world, and the tunnel into what others experience.
anyway, great book!

taylorm00re's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

so good. family, coming of age, race, class, immigrant experiences, love, relationships. two povs. easy to read, could’ve read forever

doublel11's review

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funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.25

This book provided really interesting insight into the lives of (fictional) Nigerians. I liked the perspectives on being Black in America as an American vs the experience of a Black African immigrant to the U.S.. Lots of interesting commentary through the lens of a character's blog, including on the topic of African hair. I really enjoyed this book.

threegoodrats's review against another edition

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5.0

First read in July 2013. My review is here. Read again in Nov 2015, review is here.

p.125 "I didn't know I was even supposed to have issues until I came to America."

p.337 "You can't even read American fiction to get a sense of how actual life is lived these days. You read American fiction to learn about dysfunctional white folks doing things that are weird to normal white folks."

p. 307 "The point of diversity workshops, or multicultural talks, was not to inspire any real change but to leave people feeling good about themselves...During her talks she said: 'America has made great progress for which we should be very proud.' In her blog she wrote: Racism should never have happened and so you don't get a cookie for reducing it."