Americanah

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Americanah
Americanah book cover.jpg
Book cover, 2013
Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Language English
GenreFiction
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date
14 May 2013
Publication placeNigeria
ISBN 978-0-307-96212-6

Americanah is a 2013 novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her third novel and fourth book, it was published on 14 May 2013 by Alfred A. Knopf. The novel recounts the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who emigrates to the United States to attend a university. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 2013.

Contents

A commercial success upon publication, French media company France 24's 2015 report shows Americanah has sold more than 500,000 copies in the US and has been translated into 25 languages.

Background

Adichie, in her 2009 TED talk entitled "The Danger of a Single Story" argued for the understanding of the multiplicity of African experiences. With her second novel Half of a Yellow Sun , Vogue classified her as the first in a series of young African authors writing about their countries with Western audiences in mind. Adichie started writing fiction at Johns Hopkins University and later got a master's in African studies at Yale University. [1]

Adichie said that when she was growing up, "everyone wanted to go to America. But I never wanted to until I realised it would be a way of escaping becoming a doctor", hence, after a year of studying medicine, she dropped out and left Nigeria to the US at 19 years-old to live with her sister in Brooklyn, and then to Philadelphia, where she studied. It took Adichie four years to write the novel. The title "Americanah" is a Lagosian slang for "Nigerians newly returned after a spell Stateside ranging from dissects, satirises, and, at its most potent, simply describes the immigrant experience, the myriad forms of racism, how race is viewed and experienced differently in America and Britain, and how we have to leave a place to belong to it". [2]

The novel was published in French by Gallimard. [3]

Plot summary

Two Nigerian teenagers, Ifemelu and Obinze fell in love in their school days at Lagos. The country is ruled by the military and people seeks to exit the country. Ifemelu moves to the United States to study, however she begins seeing another view of her from the people. Such views includes racism and for the first time, she begins understanding being black. Obinze, on his side hopes that he would join her but his visa gets denied following the September 11 attack in the US. He eventually moves to London and becomes an undocumented immigrant after his visa expires.

After many years, Obinze returns to Nigeria. He has become wealthy since he works as a property developer. Ifemelu gains attention in the United States following her blog about race. The blog is named "Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black". When she returns to Nigeria, the two consider reviving a relationship in light of their diverging experiences and identities during their many years apart.

Characters

Reception

Critical reviews

In her review for San Francisco Chronicle , Catherine Chung wrote, "Americanah is an exhilarating, mind-expanding pleasure of a read. It is a brilliant treatise on race, class and globalization, and also a deep, clear-eyed story about love — and how it can both demand and make possible the struggle to become our most authentic selves". [4] Kristy Davis of Oprah Daily wrote that the novel is "an expansive, epic love story. It pulls no punches with regard to race, class and the high-risk, heart-tearing struggle for belonging in a fractured world", [5] while NPR wrote that "Adichie weaves whole entries into the narrative, and these tart editorials add yet another dimension to Americanah, which is as capacious, absorbing and original a novel as you will read this year". [6] Eugenia Williamson of The Boston Globe wrote, "a cerebral and utterly transfixing epic...Americanah is superlative at making clear just how isolating it can be to live far away from home". [7] Mike Peed of The New York Times Book Review wrote that it is "a novel that holds the discomfiting realities of our times fearlessly before us...A steady-handed dissection of the universal human experience". [8]

In her review for The Washington Post , Emily Raboteau praised the author, writing that "Adichie is uniquely positioned to compare racial hierarchies in the United States to social striving in her native Nigeria. She does so in this new work with a ruthless honesty about the ugly and beautiful sides of both nations". [9] The Dallas Morning News called the novel "a bright, bold book with unforgettable swagger that proves it sometimes takes a newcomer to show Americans to ourselves". [10] John Timpane of The Philadelphia Inquirer acknowledged that "Americanah tackles the U.S. race complex with a directness and brio no U.S. writer of any color would risk", [11] while Vogue and The Seattle Times wrote that "Americanah is that rare thing in contemporary literary fiction: a lush, big-hearted love story that also happens to be a piercingly funny social critique" [1] and "a near-flawless novel", [12] respectively.

In a review for The Chicago Tribune , Laura Pearson wrote, "sprawling, ambitious and gorgeously written, 'Americanah' covers race, identity, relationships, community, politics, privilege, language, hair, ethnocentrism, migration, intimacy, estrangement, blogging, books and Barack Obama. It covers three continents, spans decades, leaps gracefully, from chapter to chapter, to different cities and other lives". [13]

Awards and nominations

Americanah won the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. [14] It was shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction in 2014. [15] It won the 2013 Heartland Award for Fiction by The Chicago Tribune. [16]

It was rated in 2013 as "one of the Best Books of the Year" by The New York Times , NPR, Chicago Tribune , The Washington Post, The Seattle Times, Entertainment Weekly , and Newsday . The novel was selected as one of the 10 Best Books of 2013 by New York Times Book Review . [17] In March 2017, Americanah won the "One Book, One New York" program by One City One Book. [18] [19] In 2024, it was ranked #27 in the list of 100 best books of the 21st century by The New York Times. [20]

Legacy

Sales

France24's 2015 report shows the novel has sold more than 500,000 copies and has been translated into 25 languages. [3] Americanah spent 78 weeks on NPR's Paperback Best-Seller list. [21] Days after The New York Times named Americanah to its best books of 2013 list, Beyoncé also signaled her admiration of Adichie, sampling Adichie's TED Talk "We should all be feminists" on the song "***Flawless"; sales of Americanah soared and as of December 23, 2013, the book climbed to the number 179 spot on Amazon.com's list of its 10,000 best-selling books. [22]

Censorship

In 2022, Americanah was banned in the Clay County School District in Florida. [23]

Adaptations

In 2014, it was announced that David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong'o would star in a film adaptation of the novel, [24] to be produced by Brad Pitt and his production company Plan B. [25] In 2018, Nyong'o told The Hollywood Reporter that she was developing a television miniseries based on the book, which she would produce and star in. [26] It was announced on September 13, 2019, that HBO Max would air the miniseries in ten episodes, with actor and playwright Danai Gurira as writer and showrunner. [27] On October 15, 2020, it was reported that the miniseries would not move forward due to scheduling conflicts. [28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Coming Home: With Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Has Written a Love Story for Our Time". Vogue . 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  2. Ramaswamy, Chitra (2013-04-27). "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on writing about race". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  3. 1 2 "Video: Nigerian author's 'Americanah' comes to France". France 24. 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  4. Chung, Catherine (2013-05-17). "'Americanah,' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2025-10-07.
  5. Davis, Kristy (2013-05-29). "Americanah". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  6. Reese, Jennifer (2013-05-22). "A Different Kind Of Immigrant Experience In 'Americanah'". NPR . Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  7. Williamson, Eugenia (2013-05-18). "'Americanah' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  8. Peed, Mike (2013-06-07). "'Americanah,' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". The New York Times Book Review . Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  9. Raboteau, Emily (10 June 2013). "Book review: 'Americanah' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". The Washington Post . Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  10. "Book review: 'Americanah,' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". Dallas News. 2013-05-25. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  11. Timpane, John (2018-11-22). "'Americanah' a sprawling novel on poisonous racism". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  12. Beason, Tyrone (2013-06-02). "'Americanah': Africans' struggle to become American". The Seattle Times . Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  13. Pearson, Laura (June 28, 2013). "Review: 'Americanah' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". The Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  14. "National Book Critics Circle Announces Award Winners for Publishing Year 2013". National Book Critics Circle. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  15. Brown, Mark (7 April 2014). "Donna Tartt heads Baileys women's prize for fiction 2014 shortlist". The Guardian . Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  16. Taylor, Elizabeth (November 3, 2013). "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 'Americanah' awarded fiction Heartland Prize". The Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  17. "The 10 Best Books of 2013". The New York Times . December 4, 2013. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  18. Weller, Chris (16 March 2017). "New Yorkers just selected a book for the entire city to read in America's biggest book club". Business Insider .
  19. Williams, John (31 January 2017). "One Book for Five Boroughs". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  20. "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century". The New York Times . 8 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  21. "Americanah". NPR. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  22. Meyer, Robinson (December 23, 2016). "When Beyoncé Samples Your TED Talk, This Is What Happens to Your Book". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  23. Rodriguez, Gabi (2023-09-17). "Roughly 300 books were removed from school libraries in Florida last year. Here's the full list". NBC 6 South Florida. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  24. Mandell, Andrea (January 4, 2015). "You're really going to want to see Lupita's next movie". USAToday. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  25. Kroll, Justin (15 December 2014). "David Oyelowo to Star With Lupita Nyong'o in 'Americanah' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  26. Galloway, Stephen (January 25, 2018). "Lupita Nyong'o: From Political Exile to Oscar to Marvel's 'Black Panther'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  27. Otterson, Joe (September 13, 2019). "Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira's 'Americanah' Adaptation Ordered to Series at HBO Max". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  28. Goldberg, Lesley (October 15, 2020). "'Americanah' Drama From Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira Dead at HBO Max". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 30, 2021.