Thoughts on Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah centers around two people and their story of love, race, immigration and the relationships that come next. Ifemelu and Obinze are from Nigeria and we follow their lives as they move away and face highs and lows. The challenges they are presented with make this a gripping, funny, fearless, honest read.

Ifemelu and Obinze meet as teenagers and they quickly fall for each other. People are leaving Nigeria if they can because of how difficult the military dictatorship is making life. Ifemelu, outspoken, bold, confident, heads to America for college. Obinze, the sincere, smart, son of a professor, would have loved to meet her there but post 9/11 makes it difficult and he ends up in London.   

I loved how we get their whole immigration story and how with each new person and experience, they learned about and changed their perception of America, London, newly democratic Nigeria and themselves. I think Obinze's point of view was so important because we get to see the rough side of immigration. How even though you build this place up in your head, getting to America is not easy and then getting the visa to England did not mean it was going to make things easier over there. Undocumented life is something that doesn't get highlighted as much and I could read all the stories, fiction and non-fiction, about it. Obinze talks about the many attempts and fails at trying to get papers via marriage. Obinze's love of America, because of all the books he'd read was my favorite. I really enjoyed how honest he is, with Ifemelu and how he views the world. I was anxiously waiting for their reunion since they both did love each other and with them both having gone through so much growth apart. 

Ifemelu's story starts with her heading to a salon because she decided that she's going back to Nigeria and that salon setting was so important to read. The way hair is discussed in this book is great because the natural hair movement is a big deal and not as discussed in literary fiction. Getting to read her hair journey and how she felt when she stopped using all the chemicals in her hair was heartbreaking. Being of Carribean background and having two aunts that are hairstylists, I have grown up with hair being a big deal and this idea of 'pelo malo' and 'pelo bueno.' It's bullshit because your hair is good because it's your hair not because it's straight instead of curly and all the other aspects of that type of thinking. Anyways, Ifemelu has been sitting in this chair getting her hair done for hours while we're getting her backstory and point of view, so we get to see the difference between the way Ifemelu viewed America and the hairstylists did. At first, it was the very judgmental air of 'I'm better than you because I know more' but it showed how the experiences Ifemelu went through and documented in her blog about being a non-American Black really changed her view of the world. Her hairstylist Aisha opens up about the difficulty of getting citizenship and that citizenship struggle is a big difference between Ifemelu and her because Ifemelu was able to get hers because one of her first boyfriends, a white man, was able to use his privilege to easily find her a job that paid for her green card process.

Ifemelu's struggles with getting a job while in college was so touching and realistic and I think as she commented on race, class and the different experiences on her blog, the reader gets to see how even though she was not African-American, she was still Black and therefore, she got to learn about all types of injustice that happen in this country from her unique lens. I think an important part of the story and her move and undergrad life was showing how difficult it can be to get a job and take care of yourself and how you can totally fall into a deep depression. Her nephew Dike also having to deal with his own issues with it as well highlighted how immigrant parents don't know how to deal with mental illness. They think that since we're in America and they left a third world country for you to have everything that there's no way you could be sad. The phrase "caged in the airlessness of their parents' immigrant aspirations" was everything because those big dreams can be so suffocating. When you begin to learn about yourself away from your parents, as Ifemelu does, you realize how much more difficult the world is and how different it is for every generation. Oh man, so much to unpack there but yeah showing the lows and highs of both Obinze and Ifemelu's journey was something I appreciated so much.

By going back to Nigeria, you get to see how even though she doesn't believe she changed, Ifemelu really had. This story being so character-driven and not necessarily plot-driven really added to the connection I made to Ifemelu. Especially since it's framed as present-day Ifemelu returning home after a decade in America and flashbacks with some bits from Obinze, you get to see how passionate she was about being open with her blog readers about her experiences. I think the end of this story made me just ponder about the way we discuss love and race in America and how we tend to skirt around these issues. Obinze forces Ifemelu to confront her feelings and just be open with him and with herself and I think that we all should take a hint from him. It's easy to say be unafraid and speak about how you feel but to see someone do it was wonderful and we should aspire to do it more person to person and not just online. As a person of color, I'm always thinking about and discussing race but I think people are quick to discuss their oppression and afraid to talk about their biases and privilege. Ifemelu's blog shows how non-Americans don't think about race and class as much as Americans do and I've had many discussions with my own mom about the affect of race and class since it's just something that was not discussed when she was growing up. It's not to say that these discussions aren't happening in other countries but it just always reminds me that it's necessary to be vocal, no matter what.

So yes, let me know if you've read Americanah. What are your favorite parts and least favorite, if any? Let's discuss all the themes!  

What's a "proper book", eh?

I'm currently reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The two main characters, Ifemelu and Obinze, meet as teenagers and the first chat they have includes a thought-provoking conversation about books that I had to just expand on it and throw in my two cents.

Obinze: I saw you holding a James Hadley Chase, near the lab. And I said, Ah, correct, there is hope. She reads.
Ifemelu: I think I've read them all.
O: Me too. What's your favourite?
I: Miss Shumway Waves a Wand.
O:Mine is Want to Stay Alive? I stayed up one night to finish it.
I: Yes, I like that too.
O: What about other books? Which of the classics do you like?
I: Classics, kwa? I just like crime and thrillers. Sheldon, Ludlum, Archer.
O: But you also have to read proper books.
She looked at him, amused by his earnestness. "Aje-butter! University boy! That must be what your professor mother taught you."
"No, seriously." He paused. "I'll give you some to try. I love the American ones."
"You have to read proper books," she mimicked.
"What about poetry?"

Ifemelu changes the topic here but oh, man this made me all so annoyed and not necessarily at Obinze but at this idea of a proper book. When I read this, I had a feeling he was only referring to American classics and what is thought of as a classic in this day and age. This has been debated forever. It's interesting that he asks about poetry because classics tend to be considered such because of rich, beautiful, poetic language that stand the test of time. I think the word classic and what is considered a great book has become interchangeable in our language. 

I did some quick research and found these thoughts about what a classic is (my thoughts in brackets):

• Novels that have deep, complex characters that grow and change and make the reader think because of the commentary on human nature/the human condition. (Hmm, sure.)
• A classic novel should say something of value. (Value is subjective though. What does that even mean?!) 
• We don't have to agree with the author's thoughts. (Of course, there is no one novel where everyone who reads it will agree with its contents. With time and new readers, problematic themes tend to arise that might have not been as discussed at the time of release.)
• We understand that the authors use a matter of techniques to communicate basic truths about humanity. Moreover, a good novel, story, or drama should give us the feeling that what happened to the characters was inevitable; that, given their temperaments and the situation in which they were placed, the outcome could not have been otherwise. ( I really liked this point but to me, this doesn't have to refer to a classic. This is just a good book.)
•  Regardless of when it was written, the work should hold meaning still in the western world, and should still hold that meaning in the future. Huckleberry Finn, for example, although it has been called the first truly American novel, deals with a universal theme, the loss of innocence. (This is the first point I came across that touched on how American classics are considered classics in other countries and why that is.) 

Expanding on that last point, I think that the sincerity, integrity and immortality of these stories could be discussed and argued about forever. The comments an author makes about people and the stress and rewards of life will always be relevant in some way or another. So while the plot and characters used to do so will change, that's what will always be. I don't know if the word classic itself is the issue because the issue becomes when the words high quality, value and outstanding are attached to it. The theme of a work being applicable at all times also tends to be a discussion. 

I could ramble on forever but to circle back to the phrase "proper book." I think the main reason it bothered me is because it just sounds so entitled. Who decided what is suitable or correct or appropriate to read?  I have to challenge my own thoughts on this all the time because it's easy to even pigeonhole yourself in regards to your thoughts about what you read. To me, the way a reader connects with what they're reading is one of the most honest, beautiful acts. It should not matter what genre, how long or what format is used. 

I like that Ifemelu challenges everything that is posed to her and it's a quality that I see in myself. I want to continue to just be vocal and have different discussions in order to keep learning and growing as a person.

Let me know your thoughts on any of my thoughts. ;]

P.S. Have you read Americanah? I already have a running list of topics I want to discuss further and I'm only 180 pages in. 

So YES, let's chat.



 

Thoughts on my 2016 reads and my 2 goals for 2017.

I completely forgot about this blog in 2016 and after my favorite reads of 2015 post I only posted two reviews, so I want to be intentional about this year. I want to continue to be a better writer and if I don't take every opportunity to write that I can that won't happen.

I went through my 50 reads of last year to really sit and think about what I wanted do for this coming year. My goals for 2016 was to read my own books and for everything but one book that I borrowed from the library I did read what I own, which was great. I still have 100+ unread books to get through and I want to continue to #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks 

Since beginning to vlog on Youtube in 2013 and tracking my reading, I've read 275 books in 4 years. Amazing. This was the year I read the least since I began tracking my reading which I'm okay with. Yes, I was busy but I also just took my time with my reads. I tend to think I'm reading diversely because it's just something that I try to be intentional about when picking a book up and this past year only 14 of the 50 books I read were from people of color. So while I think I'm doing well at this goal, it could be better. So I hope to have at least half of my reads for 2017 be from people of color. Specifically, two of my favorite reads of 2016 were from Latina authors and I want to continue to read more Latinx authors because seeing yourself represented in what you're reading is magical.

My favorite reads of 2016 were: Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, milk and honey by rupi kaur, When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates, In the Woods & The Likeness by Tana French.

Out of those eight, six are people of color so it just goes to show that year after year for me those are the reads that are all the adjectives: emotional, moving, essential and poignant.

My reading in 2016 was also 48% young adult books with literary fiction, middle grade and non-fiction being the other genres I read the most of as well. I want to read more in other genres and not focus as much on YA. It's something I know I enjoy, so continuing to branch out will just allow to me to experience different stories and find new favorite authors.

That's it for now. I'm keeping my goals simple as to not make something that I love to do so much a chore.

Recap of goals:
Continue to read what I own & read more widely & diversely (#ownvoices), focusing on Latinx authors.

Let's have fun and learn a lot this year!

Betty :]