We’ve selected 12 groups to shadow the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. Here we look at one of the shortlisted titles, Americanah, which will be reviewed by Edinburgh Festival Fringe Book group and Durham Eclectics.
About the book
As teenagers in Lagos, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America. There she suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.
Thirteen years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a blogger. But after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?
About the author
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. She is the author of three novels, Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah and of a short story collection, The Thing around Your Neck.
She has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Orange Prize for Fiction (2007) and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2008).
Get involved
Have you read Americanah? Let us know what you thought by leaving a comment below.
You can also read about the other titles shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.
