"Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Race & Love

Chimamanda will take you through the different stages of Ifemelu’s life while she makes you reflect upon things you have never even thought about. Some of these things are so obvious that they will leave you startled: how is it possible I did not think about this? How did I not see this? I am not American, I am not Nigerian, and I am not black, but I saw myself as a person who was aware of the race issues in America. However, I did not realize I could never be fully aware of them because I have never felt them in my skin. This is not only a novel, it is a political statement.

Ifemelu, the main character, decides to move to the USA to study. She leaves behind her family -except for her aunty Uju, who already lives there, her boyfriend, and her friends. She sees the USA as a dream, she idealizes it and imagines how great it will be. However, this illusion crumbles down the moment she steps into the country. She finds it very difficult to get a job that helps pay for her studies and is forced to do things she would never have done in Nigeria. She alienates herself from her loved ones and becomes depressed. She realizes the intricacies of race. She realizes she is black. In Nigeria, being black was the normal thing. In the USA, being black meant you were automatically below white people. She quickly discovers that, being African American and being African are two very different things, even in the eyes of white people. In order to fit in, she tries adopting an American way of doing things: from the American pronunciation to the food she eats or how she styles her hair… until one day (only when her life is already sorted and she can afford doing this), she decides to stop being who she is not. She opens a blog to talk about race, to discuss little things she observes every day, and it becomes a success thanks to her boldness.

During the years she is there, she dates several men. One of them, the Hot White Ex (as she calls him) had helped her get a green card and opened many doors for her. Although he was always kind and good to her, she always felt they were too different and that, even if he didn’t mean to, he allowed and agreed with other people’s racist behavior towards her. After him, he dates an African American professor who is also very good to her (in her own words) but extremely patronizing. At some point she realizes this is not what she wants for herself and decides to move back to Lagos. All this time, she always had in mind Obinze, her teenage sweetheart, with whom love was only natural, pure, easy. She had pushed him away, but she could never forget him. Coming back to Lagos will allow them to meet again, but they will have to overcome many obstacles. He, of course, has also lived his life. He is a married man and has a child despite the fact that he could never forget her either.

Personally, I did not like Ifemelu’s character very much. I enjoyed her “blog posts” (included in the novel) because they were sharp and courageous, and even though I believe she was good-hearted, her actions did not seem to follow her heart. Her story, on the other hand, is fast paced and intense. The story is, to put it simply, captivating enough. I felt differently about Obinze, I needed Ifemelu to somehow make it up to him. I wanted him to be happy. He seemed so tender and so loving, it was impossible not to wish him what he most wanted.

Adichie's novel is a magnifier of both American and Nigerian societies, and she allows the reader to know the good sides and the bad sides of both worlds. Her mastery with words makes you feel a kind of intimacy, as if you were completely present in all of Ifemelu's moments. She manages to keep the reader interested although her characters are far from perfect. This is perhaps the reason why they sound so human, so relatable, so tangible. I really wish I had read this before. This is not a cliché love story. This is not an immigrant tale. This is a masterpiece, and every one slightly interested in understanding the American reality should read it.

"She was inside his silence and she was safe."