Someone Else’s Shoes

Americanah – 5/5 

I am so sorry that this review has taken so long – I finished this book a while back and have just been so caught up with life, that I completely forgot to post my review. From my above rating, I clearly loved this book so I’ll keep this review short and sweet! 🙂

Synopsis: This is a story about Ifemelu and Obinze and their love. Due to certain circumstances in Nigeria, Ifemelu moves to America while Obinze remains. Obinze aims to join Ifemelu in America, but his undocumented status blocks his way, and he lives a dangerous life as an undocumented citizen in London. Ifemelu faces great academic success while in America, but starts to grapple with being “black” for the first time in her life.

This book was everything that I wanted it to be – I read this much slower than I usually read my books, but it was the exact right pace for this kind of read. With a work of Chimamanda Adichie, you want to savor every word and really take it all in. The stories of Ifemelu and Obinze that Chimamanda Adichie weaved together was mesmerizing and it left you wanting more, and these two are precisely why I loved this book. The character development in this book is unreal – Chimamanda Adichie creates some beautiful characters with tragic, yet beautiful story lines. We watch the beginning of their relationship, and then follow their separate lives in America and London, and then their reunion. It’s amazing how she is able to create these stories and then weave them together so seamlessly. 

The most poignant thing about this book was how Chimamanda Adichie approached the theme of “race” through the eyes of Ifemelu, as she navigates her way through her new life in America. Through the eyes of Americans, Ifemelu is “black”, even though she has never seen herself that way. We read about her opinions and perspective on this new life through her identity as an up and coming blogger, which was a new and ingenious way of processing these new thoughts and reflections on race. It continued to challenge my own perceptions of race and I am perceived by those around me. The book was not only a beautiful story, but also a wonderful tool of reflection of race and what “race” means to me.

So, all in all, I loved LOVED this book!!! 🙂 This will definitely rank as one of my favorite books of the year and I definitely encourage everyone to read it!!! 🙂 ❤