One of The New York Time's top books of 2013, Americanah by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is observant, witty and provides a fresh voice not well represented in literature.Americanah centers around Ifemelu, a girl who grows up in Nigeria and emigrates to the United States to study due to the continuous strikes at her local university in Nsukka.
Upon arriving in the United States, she struggles to find her footing, especially as she realizes that she has now become black, a concept that did not exist in Nigeria.
Ifemelu decides to start a blog where she captures her experiences and observations as an outsider, being a NAB (Non American Black), who is then thrust into the inside when she arrives in the States where she is grouped with ABs (American Blacks).
Obinze, Ifemula's first love, ends up emigrating to London where he starts over as Vincent Obi, a GB citizen willing to sell his National Insurance number so that Obinze can work. Not only does Obinze become Vincent so that he can work and open a bank account, but also pays 35% of his salary from cleaning toilets and delivering furniture to Vincent as a fee.
One of the observations by Adichie is that Americans are often friendly to immigrants, but will make no effort to learn how to pronounce a foreign name. Brits are surly and curt, but will make sure to pronounce a foreign name correctly. I've experienced this many times, especially as I have worked with off-shore software development teams based in India.
By weaving the stories of two childhood love's emigration and eventual return to Nigeria, Americanah looks at race in America and illegals in the UK while providing a glimpse of Nigerians who are proud of their country (even if it may corrupt and full of 419 Nigerian Prince internet scams) and still struggling to come out of the shadows of the western world.
No comments:
Post a Comment