Americanah

Let me get this out of the way first: was I primarily interested in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie because Beyonce sampled her in “Flawless”? Yes, of course. (I also later realized that we listened to her TED Talk The danger of a single story in my grad school storytelling class, and I HIGHLY recommend it. It definitely informed my reading of this. And of like, everything.)

Anyway, I just thought this was such a smart, funny, important book. It's roughly the story of Ifemelu and Obinze, two smart, middle class-ish Nigerian teenagers who fall in love in high school, and then are separated as they try to pursue college/jobs abroad, in the US and the UK, respectively. Ugh, it's SUCH a cutting and insightful examination of race in America. But also, a beautifully developed love story. I love, love, LOVED Ifemelu. What a complicated, well-developed character.