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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's fiction redefines how we read women
Bold, unflinching, and deeply rooted in both the personal and the political. That's how I describe Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's work. She dismantles all-too-familiar stories, rebuilds them, and then asks us to sit with the discomfort. Whether through fiction, essays, or public talks, the Nigerian writer has steadily redefined how female voices, especially African ones, are represented in literature. Her work doesn't simplify, sanitise, or apologise; it demands to be felt. Her debut, Purple Hibiscus (2003), is written through the eyes of a young girl navigating the shadows of religion and domestic violence. Adichie introduced a kind of storytelling that was restrained but piercing; the language was lyrical, the emotions bruising. It was a debut that promised more and delivered. With Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), she turned her gaze to the Biafran War, offering a panoramic yet intimate portrait of love, survival, and betrayal. The novel, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction, centred not just the politics of the time, but the women who endured it. They were complex, fierce, and deeply human and never reduced to collateral or cliché. But it was Americanah (2013) that truly made Adichie a global literary name. Through the story of Ifemelu – a Nigerian woman who migrates to the US – she explored what it means to move across continents, identities, and cultures. With unflinching honesty, she unpacked race, hair, class, immigration, and belonging. The writing was observational, sometimes uncomfortable, often funny but always real. The New York Times named it one of the top ten books of the year. Outside of fiction, Adichie's voice has echoed just as loudly. Her TEDx talk 'We Should All Be Feminists' became a cultural moment, later adapted into a slim essay that found its way into classrooms, Instagram captions, and even Beyoncé's music. What made it resonate was its clarity. She wasn't lecturing, she was inviting. Her feminism wasn't rigid or academic. It made room for contradiction and evolution. There's a line in that essay early on, where she writes: 'I am trying to unlearn many lessons of gender I internalised while growing up, but I sometimes still feel vulnerable in the face of gender expectations.' It's a quiet confession, but it hits hard. Adichie isn't interested in presenting a perfect feminism. She's more interested in a real one. Her follow-up, Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, is written as advice to a friend raising a daughter. It's practical, warm, and deeply personal. Like much of her work, it's not trying to go viral; it's trying to connect. What sets Adichie apart is that she doesn't write women to prove a point or make them palatable. She writes them to be. There's no manufactured girlboss energy, no sloganeering and no faux-edginess. Her female characters are smart, sometimes confused, and often contradictory. They crave love and freedom, career and children, and they're never punished for wanting it all. Their dualities are part of what makes them real. She avoids the academic jargon that can often gatekeep feminist conversations. Instead, she writes with anecdotes, observations, and an unwavering sense of honesty. 'I write because I have to,' she once said. 'Because I believe that fiction can illuminate truth.' And she does exactly that, often with a kind of quiet conviction that lingers long after the last page. Kambili, Olanna, Ifemelu – her women aren't metaphors or mouthpieces. They're layered, flawed and alive who resist easy narratives. They are not written to inspire; they are written to exist, and that, in itself, is radical.
TimesLIVE
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Taking a bite out of Chimamanda's buttered toast
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 4th Estate When reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's latest offering Dream Count I was reminded of a favourite scene of mine in one of the Narnia books I read as a child. In the scene, the four siblings who must navigate a talking lion, a witch and a precarious wardrobe are so starved that they start craving buttered toast. One of the blandest foods to crave but at that moment of having no other option, even toast would suffice. I also found myself salivating at the thought of sinking my teeth into warm, crunchy bread that crackled at every bite. That hearty scent of rich butter all washed down with orange juice, hot chocolate or tea. I was also with very few options and immediately became enamoured with the hungry siblings and their plight. To this day, buttered toast is a comfort food I always return to. Not as a breakfast or 'girl dinner' but rather as a bite packed with memories that make me feel warm. In Dream Count, Adichie tells the story of four women interlinked by the same desires. Men. The book was inspired by the passing of Adichie's mother and her curiosity about how she would relate to one of the characters, Kadiotou. While this might be an ensemble, Kadiotou's harrowing story is only a common thread that pops up between the other characters. Specifically Chiamaka, who dominates the tale. She and her best friend Zikora have first-person narration, while Kadiotou and Chiamaka's acerbic cousin, Omelogor, have their experiences narrated to us. Through their journeys, we learn a lot about their lives in the way that Adichie has done in books like Half of a Yellow Sun. Chiamaka is a frustrating mess to whom many reading the pages might relate. You either know of a Chiamaka or you have a friend like her. Something of a Nigerian-born Carrie Bradshaw meets Emma Woodhouse, Chiamaka is a funny mess to follow. Particularly when it comes to her ill-fated relationship with her hotep (term typically used for black men who are Afrocentric to a regressive degree) boyfriend, Darnell. Through dinners and dates, we see how Darnell posits himself as a revolutionary intellectual but continues to disappoint Chiamaka, who places a lot of her self-worth on the men she dates. Even in the relationship's end, where Darnell overreacts about Chiamaka ordering a mimosa in a swanky French restaurant in Paris. She dodges his hysteria and starts a relationship with a married man that dissolves as quickly as it started. However, it does give her insight into interracial dating, but does not remedy the assimilation she has to perform when dating men from different backgrounds. Her confidants, Zikora and Omelogor, act as powerful gal pals who are resolute in their disagreements yet cautious enough not to hurt Chiamaka's feelings. Zikora is a golden child who eventually falls for the good guy type in Kwame, before their relationship fizzles out when both parties fail to effectively communicate their thoughts on her pregnancy. This is where the book shines the most as we get left with Zikora's isolation, her perseverance through a pregnancy she was quietly excited about and concludes with endless attempts to keep in touch with Kwame. In what Adichie describes as an 'unfinished dying', the labour of falling out of love and in connection with her soul mate is heartbreaking and nearly makes the book a literary realism masterpiece were it not for the cracks that start to show. Kadiotou's story is told in third-person narrative because of Adichie's respect for the real-life events it was inspired by. However, Omelogor, who runs a microblog, is also not given the honour of telling her own tale. As one of the more exciting women in terms of her world views, this makes Omelogor an anticlimactic character to read about. With Adichie employing the same linguistics when writing in Zikora and Chiamaka's voices, it often feels like they play big brother over Kadiotou and Omelogor's lives as there are no distinct differences in how she retells each woman's tale. Their passivity also makes them feel like one woman in four different versions of a Marvel multiverse, à la their very own What If series. This is where Adichie becomes a buttered toast author. There are no surprises with butter toast, and neither are there any with Adichie's book. You know what you are going to get: page after page of women pining over men, their mothers pining over grandkids and their female relatives pining over their dowager lives. It is a void obsessed with women who are stereotypes; the flighty columnist, the pregnant, shrewd lawyer, the middle-aged woman obsessed with pornography and the poverty-stricken outlier who is fodder for the haves and the have-nots. Perhaps fuelled by being a member of the queer community, there is nothing new to Dream Count. Nothing profound in its obsession with the mundane and its characters who are not daring enough to try something new. In a failure to explore the feelings an desires of women in their forties to fifties, Dream Count is a perfect read for chick-lit lovers who wish to be affirmed in their beliefs with the promise of excellent prose.
News24
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
The storytellers of Africa: Voices that move the continent
Stories make the world spin, and this Africa Month, we're reminded just how deeply our stories shape who we are as Africans. Think back to those childhood days: sitting under a big tree, eyes wide, listening to your grandmother's voice carry a tale through the air. Or sneaking into grown-up conversations, catching unbelievable stories from the elders. Remember the ones that gave you chills? The ones you loved so much you told them over and over? Think of Black Panther. Think of every story that's ever made your heart race, made you proud, made you feel. Africa Month isn't just about flags and heritage days – it's about souls. It can also be about honoring the storytellers and the creatives who keep our past alive and shape our future. 1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) Chimamanda is known for her exploration of identity, feminism and post-colonial Nigeria in novels like Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chimamanda Adichie (@chimamanda_adichie) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chimamanda Adichie (@chimamanda_adichie) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chimamanda Adichie (@chimamanda_adichie) 2. Ngugi wa Thlong'o (Kenya) A leading voice in decolonising African Literature. He writes in Gikuya and focuses on language, liberation, and memory, with books like A Grain of Wheat and Decolonising the Mind. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Africa Center (@theafricacenter) 3. Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe) Her novel Nervous Conditions is a feminist coming-of-age novel set against Zimbabwe's colonial legacy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tsitsi Dangarembga (@tsitsidangarembga) 4. NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) Merges personal and political narratives in works like We Need New Names and the satirical Glory, inspired by Zimbabwean politics. View this post on Instagram A post shared by A F R E A D A (@afreada) 5. Bessie Head (South Africa) Although born in South Africa, Bessie Head spent much of her writing life in Botswana due to political exile. Her work When Rain Clouds Gather explores themes of identity, belonging, mental health, and rural transformation. Even after she passed on, she remained one of Southern Africa's most celebrated literary voices. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LoetolwaBotswana (@loetolwabotswana) 6. Zakes Mda A prolific playwright, novelist, and poet, Zakes Mda blends history, folklore, and post-apartheid realities in novels like Ways of Dying and The Heart of Redness. His work explores healing, memory, and the human cost of political change. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda (@zakesmda) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda (@zakesmda)
TimesLIVE
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's ‘Dream Count' is powerful but awkward
Dream Count Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 4th Estate I have been a fan of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's writing since the days of Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah, so a new novel after a 10-year gap from this Nigerian/American author is something to celebrate. Here she focuses on four women: three living in America and one in Nigeria. The novel opens with Chiamaka, a travel writer who lives in America, contemplating her life at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown. We learn about her background — she is the Nigerian equivalent of a trust-fund kid, the child of very wealthy parents, who likes her travelling to be luxurious and glamorous — and her past romantic entanglements. She is kind, funny and always seems to be searching for something that is just out of reach. Next we meet Zikora, Chiamaka's best friend, who also lives in America and is a lawyer, searching for love, only to be disappointed. She is also wealthy and successful, as is Omelogor, Chiamaka's cousin, who is still based in Nigeria and has risen up the ranks of Nigerian finance — a not-always-honest sector. But having got to the top through fair means and foul, she decides to attend an American university to study, of all things, pornography, and to set up a website to 'educate' men on the subject. The fourth woman, Kadiatou, is somewhat different. She is also based in America, but grew up in rural Guinea, poor and less educated than the three Nigerians. She works as a domestic and as a hotel chambermaid to earn money to give her young daughter a better chance in life than she has had. And here Adichie shifts away from exploring the lives and choices of wealthy, successful women on the cusp of middle age and still uncertain of what they really want, to something rather different. Drawing on the real-life case that concerned the chief of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was accused of rape by an immigrant hotel worker, Adichie, having given Kadiatou a backstory, has her at the mercy of the American judicial system, having been raped by an influential man, a guest in the hotel where she is working. And, while the telling of Kadiatou's story is powerful and poignant, to some extent it throws the rest of the book out of balance. There are times when Dream Count feels like two different novels that have been strung together. The one deals with women who on the surface are successfully competing in a world where they could have been seen as alien, but who are still searching for more than they seem able to reach — a search for the kind of success in their private lives that they have managed in their public ones. And on the other hand, we see a woman who has all the odds stacked against her and while — without wanting to give spoilers — she can be counted as having been treated horribly in her public life, she will ultimately achieve a personal catharsis. Adichie's writing is compelling, and Dream Count always holds one's attention. There is humour, outrage and wit, but Kadiatou's life experience is so removed from that of the other characters, however much they interact with her, that it makes for a slightly uneasy blend.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC Board of Education at odds during latest book ban discussion
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSAV) — The South Carolina Department of Education (SCBOE) will not take another 10 books off school library shelves, at least for now. The state board postponed a vote Tuesday on 10 books that were considered for a statewide ban. Earlier this month a review committee unanimously recommended the titles be banned statewide. The books the recommended for bans are: 'Collateral' by Ellen Hopkins 'Empire of Storms' by Sarah J. Maas 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 'Hopeless' by Colleen Hoover 'Identical' by Ellen Hopkins 'Kingdom of Ash' by Sarah J. Mass 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo 'Living Dead Girl' by Elizabeth Scott 'Lucky' by Alice Sebold 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins A final vote on the recommendations was scheduled for Tuesday but some board members expressed concerns about the wording of Regulation 43-170. That regulation was promoted by S.C. Department of Education staff that defines any book containing a 'description' of sexual conduct as age-inappropriate for grade K-12. 'I am concerned about potential abuses of a process that we intended to be fair and equitable,' said board member Maya Slaughter. According to the regulation, board members do not have to read the whole book but can make a decision based on passages only. 'Looking at these texts outside of the arc of their full stories is a mistake in my view,' said Board member Antony Vincent. It only takes one person to make a challenge to a book. So far, the majority of the 27 challenges are coming from one Beaufort County woman, Elizabeth Szalai. Szalai also spearheaded the previous review of 97 books by panels connected to Beaufort County Schools. 'I don't think somebody from Beaufort should make me drive here from Myrtle Beach every meeting to talk about more books,' said board member Ken Richardson. 'My question is, when does this thing stop?' After the debate concluded, board member Jackie Lynn eventually made the motion to table a vote on the 10 books. 'It is reassuring that the State Board of Education is prioritizing the rights of families, students, and educators rather than the handful of South Carolinians who feel scarily comfortable taking the rights of others. I hope that the board will take the time to craft a democratic policy that considers the full context of a written work,' said Josh Malkin, Advocacy Director for the ACLU of South Carolina. So far, 12 books have been removed from South Carolina school libraries since the regulations went into effect last year. According to the regulation, if the Board of Education rules in favor of a challenge, the books will be pulled from all school libraries statewide. Most schoolbook bans are limited to the school district in which they are imposed. South Carolina is one of three states, in addition to Utah and Tennessee, with a mechanism for statewide schoolbook bans established by state law. Utah has mandated 17 books banned for all schools in the state. So far, Tennessee has not had any state-mandated book bans. If all 10 of these titles are banned, as the committee recommends, South Carolina would surpass Utah with the most state-mandated bans impacting all public schools. There is no word on if the board will ask to change the regulation, or if these books will be up for debate again. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
