Ifemelu and Obinze leave military-era Nigeria for America and England; years later, love pulls them home.
Books mentioned in Americanah (12)
The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene: “He gestured to the book on the kitchen table, Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter. "My mother reads this book twice a year.”
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin: “he gave her a list of books. The Fire Next Time … She stood by the library shelf and skimmed the opening chapter, braced for boredom”
Light in August by William Faulkner: “Ifemelu raised her hand; Faulkner's Light in August, which she had just read, was on her mind.”
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: “Everybody recommended Things Fall Apart, which I read in high school. It's very good but sort of quaint, right?”
A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul: “I've just read this great book, A Bend in the River. It made me truly understand how modern Africa works.”
Brideshead by Evelyn Waugh: “Waugh is the best of them. Brideshead is the closest I've read to a perfect novel.”
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene: “Greene doesn't really do it for me, but the rst part of The End of the Aair is terric.”
Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama: “She read Dreams from My Father in a day and a half, sitting up on the couch, Nina Simone playing on Blaine's iPod speaker.”
Cane by Jean Toomer: “Ifemelu opened her novel, Jean Toomer's Cane, and skimmed a few pages.”
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama: “"...the morning she picked up Barack Obama's book, Dreams from My Father, which Blaine had just finished and left lying on the bookshelf..." "She read Dreams from My Father in a day and a half, sitting up on the couch."”
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “Obinze and Ifemelu discuss school poetry: "'What's that last one we did in class, \"Ancient Mariner\"? So boring.'"”
Miss Shumway Waves a Wand by James Hadley Chase: “'I saw you holding a James Hadley Chase, near the lab...' 'I think I've read them all.' 'Me too. What's your favorite?' 'Miss Shumway Waves a Wand.' 'Mine is Want to Stay Alive?'”