Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: a review.
*contains spoilers*
Never
before have I so instantly and emphatically in my life finished a book and had
to look to the ceiling and roll my eyes. (And no, that wasn't a reference when I said ceiling, it just happened that way).
Not just roll my eyes, but full cartoon dramatic book look up and roll them, really roll them.
I really liked this book, let me just start of by saying. The style was short, the the point and real. It didn’t shy away from harsh truths or awkward subjects (in fact, it called them out obviously and with a spot light that said ‘I’m talking to you’ which I LOVED) and it had a brutal honesty to it that was refreshing and educational and provoking. I really liked the way the thoughts switched between Obinze and Ifemelu and I also liked how the narration flowed somewhat like a stream of consciousness, focussing on the tiny details that make a personal experience rather than just obvious and larger plot devices.
However, as much as I liked the story and the narrative (and I really did like it) it wasn’t what I was expecting after reading the blurb. From reading the blurb I expected more of the story to be focussed on Ifem’s return and what happens when she meets Obinze again and how they rekindle or bury their relationship, and so I ended up frustrated because I really liked the past/present tense life story but I almost feel like the blurb did it’s own book a disservice by promoting the reader to thinking the story was something a little other than what it was. And that was frustrating because the past as it was told was beautifully written, in depth, and human in such an intimate way and so I want the blurb to sing its praises, rather than make me expect another part of the story to be told, as if I’ve got to rush through all the past tense to get to the real point.
When it said they’d ‘face the biggest challenge of their lives’ I expected a lot of the story to be present tense, and so when I was down to the last 10 pages and they’d still not spoken again yet and I was checking the length I had left because it was so near the end and yet so unresolved, I was suspicious. When Obinze then knocked on Ifemelu’s door, I read it with a sinking feeling, because I just knew that it would end there, and I’d not get my resolved ending for the couple. (And don’t get me wrong, I see the value in ending the book like that from a more analytical perspective, but as a reader, I want more tying up of the end, more vision into how it works for Obinze and his wife and his child, and more insight into if they can actually make it work as a couple or if they’re whole relationship works better as the idea of one).
I guess what that equates to is: I liked this book so much that it ending dissatisfied me, which is a fairly complimentary thing at the end of the day since it brings Pseydonymous Bosch’s line to mind: ‘No good book has a happy ending. Because if it’s a good book, you never want it to end’ and yeah, I didn’t want it to end. I wanted more!
All in all, I would definitely recommend it. 4/5*.
For more book recommendations, check out my last book blog post:
Or you can check out my Goodreads Page which has a bigger and more varied list of books I’ve read, reviews of them, and books I want to read.
From your friendly neighbourhood Mischief Weaver
Ani. :)
Comments
Post a Comment