₦airaland Forum

slap1:
I don't think the mod who moved this nonsense to the front page understands literature. This is a big embarrassment for nairaland. This isn't a critique, it is a soulless, ignorant rambling.

Exactly.

merahki:
True Story
The story was soo honest it was a bit chilling. "In your face and raw truth" was how she dished it
A beautifully told story....

@OP....what a sanctimonious load of crap, na only you waka come? . In other words, you need her to lace it with hypocrisy (preach against sex) in order to appeal to your senses eh? Wahala
She is not Pastor Adeoluorishuogbueli is she? She has never claimed to be a redeemer....has she? She is a pure story teller, and if you have a problem with it, write your own (Adichie's mentor Achebe said this). She did not write her book to pander to our over-religious appetites
Also I started reading "Anthills of the Savanna" ....it has sex, and scandal and corruption so I don't know what you are on about
I think you have no business reading books like this, stick to all those Daily Biscuit types.

(For people who are yet to read) You are in for a cool, great ride....realistic, rebellious, passionate, well written and believable story
You must not read if what you want is morality and preaching. We know where we can get all that...our Senate, our religious institutions, etc

true talk jare. Some people think literature is like nollywood, where the plot is predetermined and bad guys get served in an exaggerated manner. Truth is, it is even those wicked people that live very loooong lives.

Adichie served up the raw truth in that book.

iRepNaija1:
First, you're the one who's assuming she was trying to promote certain things. Instead, why won't you take the book for what it is: an author telling the life experiences of fictional characters. Just go into it with an open mind.

Second, Uju did not become a medical doctor until after she came to the United States. She did not have financial support when she left Nigeria for the United States.

Third, the author is not promoting women to get sugar daddies. She was trying demonstrate that love has no boundaries, and it can come in all different ways. The fact the love happened between a married General and a mistress, that he financially supported her, and she supposedly used him, is what displeases you, just like it displeased Ifemelu, and left her secretly judging Uju.

Fourth, just like I mentioned above, Ifemelu does subtly judge people for what she doesn't approve of. For example, when she finds out that her old friend, Rayinudo, is having an affair with a married man, Ifemelu, without her friend's knowledge or permission, writes about it on her blog. When Rayinudo angrily confronts her about, she points out Ifemelu's hypocrisy. How was Rayinudo receiving a jeep or any number of favors from her lover different from how Ifemelu got her visa and finally her citizenship when her then boyfriend, Curt, pulled some strings for her? This is one of Ifemelu's flaws. She's secretly judging others or writing about them on her blog without realizing she participates in the same behavior she writes about. She's very observant with others but seems to lack that foresight when it comes to herself.

Fifth, I don't agree with your assessment of the relationships in this book. All the people here in relationships are grown people who gave their consent to be in the relationship. Curt offered to get Ifemelu a job and the green card. It made sense for Ifemelu, who didn't have a job lined up after college and could have been sent back to Nigeria, to accept his offer. What did you want her to do? Say no? And how in the world did she use Blaine? They both flirted, made out, slept together, started a relationship, and eventually, mutually, broke up.

Sixth, America is not just conservative and rigid. It's a mix of everything, with people who come from all different walks of life. Yes, there is racism and there are racist people. But the author was a) telling one specific experience and therefore b) you should not let that one experience tarnish your entire outlook of a vast country made up of hundreds of millions of people. If you want, you should at lease visit America before you completely write if off. All countries, including Nigeria, have their good and bad. Just like people, just like these flawed characters in this book.

Seventh, your paternalistic view of women is startling. Young women are easily influenced by what they read? Please stop being sexist. All authors, men or women, trust their audience, believe them to be smart individuals who can handle what they have to say.

Eighth, premarital sex in Nigeria happens. Men and women in Nigeria cheat on their spouses. Women and men in Nigeria have children out of wedlock. Human beings do cruel things to each other because we're human. Just because the author chose to write about it, doesn't mean she's promoting it. She's writing about very real experiences that happen in Nigeria and the last thing we need to be doing, as a country, is pretending it's not there.

Ninth, the author was not raised in the west. Stop blaming the west. The author is allowed to talk about what she wants to talk about in her own darn books.

Tenth, Kosi did not meet Obinze when he had nothing. He was already a big man in Lagos when they met a mutual friend's wedding. The author can treat her characters the way she wants to. Again, it's her book. We may not like it but it's not our call. Yes, a person can learn to love another but as it was clearly stated in the book Obinze did not love Kosi and did not want to learn to love her. He even told Kosi he would not cheat on her unless he wanted to. And therefore, he cheats on her[b] because he wanted to. [/b]

Despite Kosi being beautiful (no one is denying that), she did not compliment Obinze and did not fit into want he found desirable in a partner. Ifemelu was opinionated, fiery, honest, insightful, and smart, despite her many flaws. I think why so many people did not like Ifemelu was because she put her own needs and wants before anyone else's. She looked out for herself first and foremost and may not have the "nurturing" behavior that many people expect in women. It's never seems to be an issue when men put their needs first. But when a lady does it, men and women, get personally offended by it.

Kosi, on the other hand, was complicit, never truly engaged Obinze in conversation that wasn't superficial, went along with what he said without questioning him, assumed things about him (believed he was disappointed she gave birth to a girl instead of a boy), was terribly insecure (frequently visited a pop-up church that held seminars about how to pray and make sure your husband does not cheat), and was too accepting of Obinze's cheating when she did eventually find out. Kosi is flawed like everyone else is in this book. Is it right that she got cheated on? No. But you have to understand why it happened.

The author is allowed to tell whatever story she wants to. You can't go in reading a book and expecting certain moral codes or rules to be followed so it can placate your sensibilities. If anything, books are supposed to challenge us, makes us think beyond ourselves and understand other people's perspectives. If anything, this should be an opportunity to try and understand and embrace the uncomfortable parts of Americanah, its characters, and their situations.

But if you're so concerned about social responsibility, upholding the sanctity of marriage, and all those other things you mentioned, please go read something else.

So so on point. I just do not have the patience like you do to start breaking everything down for him hence my advice to him to read the book again. Folks think they have a say in every damn thing. They want everything spelt out for them verbatim. No wonder it is said that if you want to hide something from a black man, put it in a book. The things in this work of fiction play out on a daily basis in our world of today. I wonder where all this critique are coming from? I guess they are coming from a position of non-comprehension of the basic fabric of the book.

Bros enh! It is because of people like you that pontificate about every little thing that the book was written. The book is by far one of the bravest literary attempts of recent times.
The book takes on an uncharted terrain in ways no other book I know of has taken. Racism and segregation is an 'enterprise' that few dare to take on these days for fear of being labelled racist, prejudiced or opportuned.
I called it an enterprise because it keeps growing albeit in different form whereas everyone involved feigns an indifference.
You may be dissapointed because the book exposed America and Nigeria in their true fabric, but sorry to burst your bubble bro, it isn't all rosy as you may think but it sure is a zillion years ahead of Nigeria. Every society has its own challenges. Some of you look at the world through the lens of Hollywood and CNN and that is why you'd be easily disappointed when confronted with the actual situation on ground.

It is just like anyone looking at Nigeria through the lens of Nollywood. It is all a script. The lifestyle you expect is scripted because it is all based on what you've seen on tv. That is however not the reality on ground.

As for the sugar daddy part, the lessons inherent in the story are obviously lost on you. I would suggest you read the book again and slowly this time to see how she discourages that without pontification.

As for the rest of your remarks, refer to above about reading again slowly. Her only crime was being brave to write about societal ills in subtle creative ways without pontification. If you really read the book, you'd see all that. Bros please write about tribalism in Nigeria in a way that is not condescending nor flattering to any ethnic group and let us see. Just an essay, post it on Nairaland and cc me. Let's see if you'll not be torn into shreds in nanoseconds.

It is always easy to criticize than to create.