"Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is the first novel I've read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and I am glad I did. I picked this book up as the "book that takes place in another country" part of my 2015 reading challenge. While this book mainly takes place in the United States, the characters are from Nigeria and we get a glimpse into their lives before and after living in the US and England respectively.

The description on the back of the book says that the main characters are separated after political unrest in their country. While this does happen, the book is much more than that. It mainly focuses on Ifemelu's life in the United States with the main issue being race. She never realized race was an issue until she came into a country where she was made to feel different because of the color of her skin. We also get small glimpses into her love interest's struggles in England being an undocumented immigrant.

After spending my summer in Williamstown, Massachusetts I have become more aware of the issue of race. I know this sounds strange especially since I am a woman of color, but growing up Latina in El Paso, Texas, is growing up the same as everyone else. We do have a small white community and a small black community, but the my people dominate the city. I have also, thankfully, never experienced any racism when I have traveled out of my city. I know it's there. I know it exists, but I never had to think about it before.

There are many insights into the life of a black woman in America. The difference being: Ifemelu is an "American-African". She is an African woman who emigrated to the United States. She sees the differences of being black in America (where she notices the color of her skin) versus being black in Africa (where she doesn't notice her skin color). She does point out differences between being black and coming to the United States versus being black and being born here. No matter what, she speaks with poignancy and I found myself relating to some of the things being said.

Ifemelu starts a blog about her observances and they are funny in their truthfulness. She is flawed, and you can see why. In Nigeria, she was smart and strong and she had a voice, when she came to the US she had to rely on others. She had to get used to being in another country while Obinze (her true love) and her parents are in Nigeria. She finds solace in her aunt who had to leave Nigeria years before and some school friends. She does not understand why they are acting different now than they did before. After experiencing some of the hardships she learns the reason. She now has to find her identity.

This book is mainly about race and yet it is also about so much more than that. This book gets you thinking. Whether or not you want to deny there are race issues, there are. Sometimes we are accidentally racist, sometimes we're intentional. We are all tired of speaking about race. We're tired of hearing about it, but it's important that we don't stop talking about it. That's how we're going to see changes. Real changes.

Adichie has created a beautiful story that makes you think. The characters are well written and you feel for them. You also get a glimpse into the life of undocumented immigrants. You find out some of the reasons why they go to another country and how much they truly struggle to find jobs. You read about the constant worry they feel about the risk of being deported and those that take advantage of them through the threat of deportation.