While I was not completely enthralled or blown away by the story in Americanah, I deeply appreciated the perspective and the look at an unfamiliar culture. Like many American whites, I don't have many friends with vastly different cultural backgrounds, so I was hoping to be able to learn more from this book. I believe I did. While, of course, my interpretation may be imperfect and I understand that my perspective can never be completely intimate with unfamiliar cultures, especially one such as Ifemelu's, I hope that I have gained some understanding.

We are introduced, at first, to Ifemelu and the boy Obinze, two different but lively characters. While Obinze is perhaps less playful than Ifemelu, I liked both. They are close growing up, but moving out of Nigeria separates them.

Ifemelu goes to school in America, and writes about the many types of people she meets, and I found it fascinating to see a new perspective. One of the parts that struck me the most was where she wrote that one of the most helpful things one can do is to simply listen. The discussion of race in this book was a large part of the middle segment, contrasting Ifemelu's experiences in America and Obinze's experiences in England. I thought both were telling, and the way they experienced and processed it was also interesting. Ifemelu was the focus of the story, but I almost found the parts that focused on Obinze more interesting, though this is likely because his personality would probably be more similar to my own.

In the latter part of the book, both Ifemelu and Obinze have returned to Nigeria, and it explores their subsequent rediscovery of their homeland and their real selves. I was much happier for Ifemelu after she returned, despite the many changes that took place, especially as she begins to talk to Obinze again and reunites with others she knew from her childhood.

Americanah is about much more than just a story about a girl who goes to school in America and comes back as an "Americanah," as it were. It discusses race and relationships in very thoughtful ways, providing different perspectives through both Ifemelu and Obinze.