Madeline
Once again, Americanah and it’s various tastes of being black is a book that was never on my radar, but came across my read list because of book club. When it comes down to it I am glad I read it. It was not a particularly “good” book; however, I appreciated the various tastes of being black that never occured to me. As a Jewish smalltown California girl in the Suburbs, my exposure to black people, black culture, and the various types of being black has been very limited.
Premise of Americanah
Ifemelu has a great life in Nigeria. She has a great family, taking classes in college, and an amazing boyfriend who she is on track to marry. But that does not stop her from moving to the United States to finish college. Her live there starts difficult and leads to a difficult situation that causes her to make a decision that will affect the rest of her life.
As she crawls out of this difficulty she figures out who she is in the United States and starts to see a difference between American Blacks and Non American Blacks. This prompts her to start a blog discussing the topic and examining the differences.
The Impression And Tastes of Being Black
Through Ifemelu’s blog, the book discusses race in America. It is used as a tool to open up a discussion that would otherwise appear forced. There is the topic of travelling while black. The topic of what Blacks are thinking of Obama while he ran for president. How there are different levels of race and the book discusses where Jews and Hispanics stand in the line. The discussion of how Africans versus Caribbeans feel about being Black in America. And this is just a sample. The book touches on many different topics and discussed the different tastes of being Black in a way I have never thought.
Final Thoughts
Americanah brought up topics of race I had never previously thought about. The book itself was not a book I particularly liked as a read, but it brought topics that I think are important for people of all race to be exposed to. I could have easily added this book to the list of books written by black authors that delighted this Jewish reader; however, thanks to Americanah, I understand how the Jewish people stand in a type of racism, but being black has another level of racism and even that has various tastes of being black. And for that reason alone, it was worth the read.
