Dubray Books review:
Growing up under a military dictatorship in Nigeria and coming from different family backgrounds, Ifemelu and Obinze are inseparable until Ifemelu departs for America and Obinze for London. Both struggle to adapt to life in their new countries and Adichie gives us a true insight into the immigrant's psyche. Inter-racial relationships, hair disasters and blogging fill Ifemelu’s time in America, while Obinze’s visa runs out and he is forced to lead an undocumented life in the UK. Years later, the pull of home is strong for Ifemelu and she returns to a much-changed Nigeria. Obinze has also returned to Lagos and become a successful property developer. Their reunion is not a smooth one and they have some difficult choices to make. Capturing the complexities of love, race and immigration, this novel is my book of the year so far.
Emma Shannon, Dubray Books Blackrock
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2014. From the award-winning author of 'Half of a Yellow Sun,' a powerful story of love, race and identity. As teenagers in Lagos, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America. There she suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Thirteen years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a blogger. But after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face? Fearless, gripping, spanning three continents and numerous lives, the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning 'Americanah' is a richly told story of love and expectation set in today's globalized world.
