Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I've had this book on my to-read list for 3.5 years, and actually on my bedside stand to read for at least three months, and it feels so good to finally read it! I think it was worth the wait. The story is about Ifemelu and Obinze, who grow up in Nigeria and both emigrate to the U.S. and the U.K., respectively. They promise to stay in touch and in love, but life as an immigrant is harder than they thought, which makes them fall apart over years and then decades of being away from each other. But then they both return to Nigeria... 

I think the main thing that deterred me for the last few months, at least, was its length--it was almost 600 pages long (although it didn't look THAT long--the pages were thin) and it did take me a long time to get through it. I feel like this book almost had two books in one--one book about the love story between Ifemelu and Obinze and how they fell apart and come back together, and one about Ifemelu's experiences and view of race and racism in America. I really enjoyed the whole thing--both books were good--but it did feel really long and it did drag a little bit. Most of the book was from Ifemelu's perspective in America, and she was a race blogger in America, so there were a lot of conversations and observations about race. It all was very good, but it didn't really seem to go together with the overall goal of this main story about Ifemelu and Obinze. I think a lot of it could have been cut out without sacrificing the overall storyline, and I feel like it maybe should have been trimmed a little bit. But overall, it was so good. I've found that I really love immigrant stories and learning about different countries and cultures and how it all translates to America, but I've never read one about someone coming here from Africa. I loved reading about Nigeria and what it was like living there and why Ifemelu wanted to go back. 

I felt like the most potent part of the book was where Obinze was talking about the choicelessness he felt living in Nigeria, where he had dreams and wanted to go other places but had no ability to decide his own future. There were so, so many amazing, excellent quotes and thoughts throughout the book that I wish I had gone through and underlined as I read. It was very well-written, very funny, and very thought-provoking. Everything I was hoping to get out of my reading life this year. (I went to the library website and requested all her other books, so I will hopefully be reading more of her stuff soon.)