So I finished Americanah about a week ago and wanna give you some of my thoughts on the book. First of all, I loved it. It's hands down one of the three best novels I've ever read. It's super expansive and covers a wide array of themes: racism, immigration, love, inter-cultural relationships, life in the USA, life in Nigeria, corruption, money - it's all in there. The novel's characters are all interesting, complex, and contradictory, even though looking back I can see that some of the characters represent a certain idea or stereotype. That might be the only weakness of the book that I can think of right now. However, in my eyes, this doesn't take away from the amazing reading experience that this book offers.
As said before, the plot is about a young Nigerian girl who goes to the USA to seek a better life. Her Nigerian boyfriend is supposed to follow her immediately, but 9/11 happens and immigration to the US suddenly isn't as easy anymore as it used to be. Spoiler alert - she suddenly breaks off contact with him due to feelings of guilt and depression after she kind of prostituted herself. After having a rough start, both eventually become very successful in their own ways - she as a famous race blogger in America - he as a married businessman in Nigeria. Nonetheless, she decides to move back to a booming Nigeria and leave everything in America behind. Obviously, from then on, it's all about their reunion and whether or not it will be happening.
To be honest, even though this books received almost exclusively positive critical feedback (the BBC chose it as one of the 20 best novels written since 2000) and even though I personally love it, I'm not sure it's a book for everyone. I think this has a lot to do with many people's reading habits - especially, let's face it, guys. Americanah doesn't just cover race and racism as major themes (especially the difference between African Americans and "Non-American Blacks") but is also super aware of race and gender (without ever being moralizing). To me, it often seems like most men like to ignore questions of gender and race inequality in general and don't think literature in particular should address these issues - because it's supposed to be about universal issues and the important questions of humankind (all Dostoevsky-style), right? I'm not saying you have to like the book - I'm sure there are good reasons not to like it (even though I'm not sure which ones) - but I'm sure the specific reason a lot of guys won't like it is because it's aware of different cultural experience and gender inequality.
But that's one of many reasons why I think this book is so great. All of its themes are especially relevant nowadays. It feels like a very "modern" read in the sense that it deals with specific problems of our time. And it succeeds in offering multiple perspectives on these problems, as its characters look at the world from three different continents. That's why you learn a lot in this book. Therefore, if you like to read out of your comfort zone every now and then, give this book a try!