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Americanah

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Americanah

By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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Shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014.

From the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun, a powerful story of love, race and identity.

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 globalised world.

©2013 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (P)2013 W F Howes Ltd African American Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Women's Fiction Africa Thought-Provoking Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

“Actress Adjoa Andoh brings to life Adichie’s complex, beautifully wrought novel – which is both a love story and a nuanced analysis of political topics including systemic racism in America; immigration in the UK; and the class system in Nigeria.” (Vogue)

"One of the previous decade’s landmark novels [...] Andoh is a skilled, exciting narrator." (The Times)

"Andoh's rich voice and distinct characters and rhythm keep the listener engrossed.... Andoh has fun adopting a mocking lilt for Ifemelu's snarky blog entries.... [and] a more serious tone brings authenticity to the heartbreak of Obinze's London experience." ( AudioFile)

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This was well-near perfect. The narration was fantastic and had me speaking in a Nigerian accent to myself and saying the names to myself because the sounds that made them up were so beautiful. The story was powerful, authentic, moving and challenging. As a white person who grew up in South Africa during apartheid and then moved to England, I felt heartbroken at some of the experiences that are portrayed in this book. The author has written a sensitive, deeply moving story about what it means to be a black person in the modern world. Ifemelu is a wonderful heroine - she has her faults but she grows through the experiences that happen to her and we really come to love her as she comes to love and accept herself. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Half of a yellow sun was fantastic, but Americanah is faultless.

Life-changing

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I loved this book. The story is convincing, I cared about the main characters, I was kept guessing, and I was drawn completely into their world.

Ifemelu's journey – from an outsider to whom everything is new and unexpectedly strange, to confident resident alien in the USA – was one I could relate to from personal experience. Like her, I was eventually pulled back home, never entirely feeling a sense of belonging, yet recognising the positive aspects of American life and values that are often overlooked by the country's critics (many of them from a point of ignorance).

The descriptions of American society and the minefield of cultural groupings and sensitivities that take so long to navigate are right on the mark here. Yet the narrative flows naturally, the characters have depth (even when they're apparently there to represent stereotypes!), and the social observation blends seamlessly with the story itself: Ifemelu's account of how her life unfolds, and to a lesser extent Obinze's story in England, too. Most of all, the love story is powerful and completely credible. It's a masterpiece of storytelling.

The narration is virtually flawless and I enjoyed having this story read to me. I'll probably go back to the beginning and listen to it all again!

A superb achievement

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Would you consider the audio edition of Americanah to be better than the print version?

Yes because of the various accents, which brings the story home

What was one of the most memorable moments of Americanah?

Most memorable part was Obinze's plight in London, I can relate to that on so many levels.

What about Adjoa Andoh’s performance did you like?

Okay but I would recommend getting coaching on pronouncing the Igbo words properly so it doesn't lose it's mean..

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Very much so

For those of us in diaspora

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What did you like most about Americanah?

An interesting perspective on Nigeria, it balances all that we hear about Nigerian scam artists. The characters were engaging and the accents were perfect. I even found myself thinking in Nigerian English. Good book.

Loved the accent...

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has a gift for simply painting pictures. I listened to this having read Half of a Yellow Sun and really enjoying it. Her grasp and description of human relationships is amazing.

She hits the nail on the head in so many ways, culturally, emotionally, and observationally. I am a fan.

Adjoa Andoh is also a fantastic narrator, accents nuanced and spot on.

I listened while driving to work and would arrive having been totally sucked in.

Loved it.

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