REVIEW: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

(Source: https://postcardsfrompurgatory.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/americanah-cover-image.jpg)

Please excuse any gushing. Chimamanda Adichie is the queen of my heart.

Americanah tells the story of two Nigerians, Ifemelu and Obinze. They meet in high school, fall in loved and stay together in university. Nigeria is under military rule at this time, to escape the constant strikes at their university Ifemelu leaves to study in America. Obinze promises to follow soon. Instead, they are seperated for 13 years. When they reunite, Ifemelu has returned to Nigeria after running a successful race blog in America, while Obinze is married and had a child.

Americanah is a love story. Through all of Ifemelu and Obinze's faults, their trials and sucesses, part of you waits for the moment they reunite. Even stronger than Ifemeulu and Obinze's personal love story, is a love story for Nigeria. Ifemelu carries two things with her as she live in America, Obinze and Nigeria. Through all her blog entries, included when relevant in some of her chapters, is a sense she is writing her way home. While she becomes a savvy "Americanah"*, her blog makes sense of a world that was incomprehensible to her when she newly arrived. When she returns to Nigeria, part of her doesn't understand why, only that she must go back. Once she does, she is lost in the beginning. She soon starts another blog, writing her way back to Nigeria she knows.

All of Obinze's loves fail. Only his love for Ifemelu is strong enough in the end. He is the opposite of Ifemelu, he loved America but found that it was not when he expected when he arrived. He does not love his wife but is content with his life. Obinze spends much of the book having lost his way. While financially successful, most of his life seems only to be going through the motions. Unlike Ifemelu, instead of holding on to his convictions his worldview becomes gradually shaken up. Only when Ifemelu returns does he begin to rediscover who he really is.

Adichie also has masterful characterisation. Even the minor characters are shown with their own stories. Ifemelu spends six hours in a hair salon and by the end of it the reader feels as if they know her hairdresser as well as they know Ifemelu.

I loved Americanah. I stayed up until 1 a.m. reading it and didn't even realise it. READ THIS BOOK. If I haven't been enough to convince you of the power of Adichie's writing here's a review of her book Purple Hibiscus by a girl I was in class with:

"[I reached a certain part] and I flung the book across the room"**

*A term used for a Nigerian who goes to America and comes back in the novel. Please correct me if I'm wrong

** The good kind, the I don't know what to do with myself the author is so good kind

"Caribbean" accent

"You're from the Caribbean? Isn't that like Jamaica?"

 If you are from the Caribbean and have ever traveled outside, you have heard some variant of this. The first time you hear it you laugh it off and explain no, the Caribbean is an archipelago, made up of hundreds of islands. Yes some accents sound more similar than other but that's getting into phonetics.

 The reason for this blog is that I just finished reading Americanah by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie.* In it the main character Ifemelu, describes her driver as having a "Caribbean accent". I have no beef with Adichie, throughout the novel she allows her characters, even minor ones, to keep their national identity. This one instance struck me as strange, perhaps because of that. What is the Caribbean accent? It feels like it belongs to members of the Caribbean diaspora. Those who have left band together in voice to remember the lyrical patterns of home.

It certainly is not something Caribbean people agree about. Tell a Trinidadian that they sound like a Jamaican and see the look you get. Most Caribbean people can generally guess where you are by your accent. Of course there is the general "Small islander accent."**

I don't expect anyone outside of the Caribbean to instantly know what island a Caribbean person by accent. I just want it to be known we are not a homogenous society of white sand beaches and palm trees. We are not just a vacation destination. Know who we are.

 Bigger countries have no excuse anymore. America, you call us your backyard. And hey Britain, Spain and France! You colonised us for nearly 500 years, learn our names.

*Spoiler alert: It was fantastic like all her books are , I'll be posting a review later.

** I am so so sorry I am an arrogant Trinidadian bastard.