Americanah

Adichie's (The Thing Around Your Neck) remarkable novel is partly an immigrant experience narrative, partly pointed social commentary, and partly a love story. Ifemelu and Obinze fell in love as teenagers in 1990s Lagos, Nigeria, when the country was under military dictatorship. Ifemelu immigrates to the United States, while Obinze gets a tourist visa to England but cannot attain permanent status and is discovered and deported. Meanwhile, Ifemelu completes college in Philadelphia and writes an extremely successful blog called "Raceteenth; or Various Observations About American Blacks by a Non-American Black." Back home, Obinze becomes part of the upper middle class in oil-rich Nigeria, with a wife, a child, and a big house. After 15 years in the States, Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, where the couple reunite and must determine if their passion has endured the years of separation. Adjoa Andoh's narration is superb. Every character is clearly and distinctly voiced. The African-accented English is crystal clear. The American characters—Andoh's interpretation of Ifemelu's observations—are deliciously caricatured.