April’s choice is a powerhouse of a book that informs and entertains in equal measure. AMERICANAH is the third novel from Orange-Prize winner Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who tackles the enormous subject of race with such vitality, intelligence and general chutzpah that you speed through the pages enchanted. AMERICANAH is first and foremost an epic love story spanning three continents: Nigerian teenagers Ifemelu and Obinze grow up together and fall in love, but are drawn apart when Ifemelu moves to study in the US and Obinze tries his luck in the UK, before returning to be a wealthy Lagos businessman.
Alternating between Ifemelu’s struggles with American ideas of race, and Obinze’s foray into being an illegal immigrant, the novel covers the next thirteen years before they finally meet again (in a 21st century, globalized, democratic Nigeria), and find out if they can regain what was lost. Along the way are many relationships, jobs, mistakes and triumphs, misunderstandings and epiphanies. And hairstyles: as Ifemelu experiments with straightened/Afro/cornrowed hair, her story moves through an identity crisis, into an activist phase and finally an acceptance of her roots, all of which is told with humour and acutely observant detail.
This is a book to make you think deeply, to see a subject in the round in all it's complexity and paradox, to hear things spoken out loud that are so often fudged over. Adichie’s ideas are fresh and bold, her writing always personal and perceptive: she is equally marvellous covering Nigerian politics as she is writing day-to-day dialogue. This is a very funny, very warm, rollicking, authentic, absolutely astonishing book. Don’t miss it – it might easily be your best book of the year.
Chimamanda's TED talk, ‘The Danger of the Single Story’ has been viewed 6.5 million times. You can view it here.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. Her first novel 'Purple Hibiscus' was published in 2003 and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Her second novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' won the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. Her work has been selected by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the BBC Short Story Awards, and in 2010 she appeared on the New Yorker's list of the best 20 writers under 40.
Fourth Estate have 50 free copies to give to Mumsnetters – to claim yours please fill in your details here. We’ll post on the thread when all the copies have gone. If you’re not lucky enough to bag one of the free books, you can always get your paperback or Kindle version here.
We are delighted that Chimamanda will be joining us to discuss Americanah, her writing life and all her previous books on Tuesday 29 April, 9-10pm. So please feel free to discuss the book here throughout the month, pop up any advance questions and we will see you all here, Tue 29 April.