The special edition of Americanah features a new cover and an emotive introduction from the author.
By Helena Olori
Renowned Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has released a special edition of Americanah, first published in May 2013, in commemoration of its tenth-anniversary. The new release features an emotive and captivating introduction written by Adichie herself, which offers readers a deeper understanding of the book’s themes, and reaffirming its enduring impact on contemporary literature.
In an excerpt from the book’s introduction published by The Atlantic, Adichie introspectively expresses gratitude for the novel’s reception. “I did not permit myself to have high expectations for this novel, and so when it was embraced by so many, I experienced a unique gratitude. (Gratitude, when one does not expect to feel it, has an extra undertone of delight.) I still experience this today. I have heard from Nigerian American readers who were inspired to move back to Lagos, and Black women who decided to go natural. A professor who said that Americanah helped his students talk about anti-Blackness in other minority communities and colorism within the Black community. A Black woman who said, quite simply, ‘I felt naked. You really saw me, a bit too much.’ The White man who said, ‘I had no idea.’ And the person who said, ‘You told the truth!”
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But Adichie’s introspective gratitude is a grounded sentiment. Her comment section on Twitter and Instagram were graced with a plethora of positive responses, as literary enthusiasts applaud her daring and poignant novel, and the milestone it has achieved.
Described by ‘Observer’ as “A brilliant novel: epic in scope, personal in resonance and with lots to say,” Americanah, marked by Adichie’s signature eloquence, follows the love and migration story of Ifemelu and Obinze. It has always resonated with readers worldwide, particularly the Black community, as it tackles themes of race, identity, and immigration.
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The book, her third novel, is one of her most celebrated works. In 2013, it won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and listed among the New York Times Book Review’s “Ten Best Books of 2013,” and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction.
Americanah is also named as NPR “Great Reads” Book, a Washington Post Notable Book, a Seattle Times Best Book, an Entertainment Weekly Top Fiction Book, a Newsday Top 10 Book, and a Goodreads Best of the Year pick. More recently, It also won the “One Book, One New York” campaign, 2017. Americanah is published by 4thestatebooks and Alfred A. Knopf.