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norilein's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Classism
hjb_128's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Death, and Death of parent
mauricekofi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
sixtinelys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual violence
Moderate: Suicide attempt
kathis_wonderland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wanted to read this book for a very long time. And now I am not fully sure what to think about it. In general, I liked the book. It felt very authentic and gave me a new insight into Africans’ experiencing racism in the US and Europe. It really broadened my horizon. The plot was very diverse. We heard about race and racism, about everyday racism, normal life, struggles, love and relationships.
However, the story was very long. Some scenes were not interesting at all and seemed to make the story longer. I was very confused at the beginning of the book. The author was jumping around within the plot, talking about the present and then jumping back to the past, writing several chapters about Ifemelu's youth and then suddenly jumping back to the present again. This confused me a lot in the beginning. Therefore, it took me ages to get into the story and to start liking it. I found Ifemelu's actions often questionable. She was cheating on her boyfriends a lot. And if there is one trope I don't like in books, it is cheating!
In the end, I started to like the book more and more. We got different perspectives and read about lots of different experiences. The love between Ifemelu and Obinze was really nice. I expected something different from the book, but in the end was pleased. I can recommend it!
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Deportation
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Colonisation
courtneyfalling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Infidelity and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence and Suicide attempt
vgp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved the account of migration stories to the States and to Britain. Feeling like an outsider everywhere, struggling with the cultural nuisances. And then, the stories of being pushed to the limits of a person until it breaks.
I could not relate and got a bit bored with some of the parts of the life in Lagos, but that’s just one side of all those that compose the life of Ifemelu.
————
Some quotes:
- “she had not had a bold epiphany […] it was simply that layer after layer of discontent had settled in her, and formed a mass that now propelled her”.
- “what she would often feel with him: a self-affection. He made her like herself. With him, she was at ease; her skin felt as though it was the right size.”
- “It’s a bit tiresome to talk about America as being insular, […] since if something major happens [there] it is the headline in Britain; something major happens here, it is on the back page in America”.
- “countries in Europe were based on exclusion and not, as in America, on inclusion.”
- “the other guests […] understood the fleeing from war, from the kind of poverty that crushed human souls, but they would not understand the need to escape from the oppressive lethargy of choicelessness. They would not understand why people […] conditioned from birth to look towards somewhere else, eternally convinced that real lives happened in that somewhere else, were now resolved to do dangerous things […] to leave”.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence
nmiall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence and Suicide attempt
tree_hugging_ginge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt
ariannam's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The novel gave me an insight into many unfamiliar situations and places (in Nigeria, USA, and UK), which sometimes proved hard to digest (Ifemelu's first years in the US are… sometimes almost unbearably hard to swallow, because of how unjust the system is), but always very engaging. What was most engaging, in my opinion, and most well-written of all, was the human aspect, especially in relationships. The dynamics, even the ugly ones, or the unsaid and unspoken things between people, are beautifully explored in these pages.
I would like to talk about the ending (spoilers below) with somebody, because the conversations I've had with friends about it make me think I'm alone in actually enjoying the ending. Is that true? Did anyone here like the ending?
Spoiler opinion/question about the ending: I think it is a little romance-novel idealistic that Obinze leaves his wife to be with Ifemelu at the end of the book, but I strongly disagree with my friends that this "ruins the book" and "Ifemelu goes back on her development" to be with him. For one, I don't think being happily in love is bad for character, and I think for what Obinze and Ifemelu had, they had to be together. They have a unique connection that can't be severed, so they would've been able to move on without each other, yes, but a cloud of unhappiness and unfulfillment would've hung over them. I'm happy he made the brave choice and decided to be with her, even though I don't believe it would easily happen in real life.
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Body shaming