Thursday, March 19, 2015

Review: The Thing Around Your Neck

The Thing Around Your Neck
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Knopf June 2009
240 pages
From the library

The Thing Around Your Neck
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's collection of short stories feature characters who are trying to find out where they belong in two very different cultures. They are Nigerian women who have moved to America or American women visiting Nigeria. Some of them are just taking a trip, some are becoming citizens of a new place, and some are hoping to leave their past behind forever. Each protagonist draws you deep inside their minds and hearts as they share their deepest secrets and desires and make the most difficult decisions of their lives. 

I have wanted to read Adichie's work for a long time now. I knew that this book was something special when I closed it and remembered each and every story. Usually when I read a collection of stories, some of them will stand out and others will be quickly forgotten. In this case. I could still recall each of the protagonists and each time my heart jumped into my throat when Adichie surprised me or beautifully captured what it meant to be in love, to want something better, or to feel utterly alone.

In "Cell One," the first story in the book, a young man goes to prison after getting caught up in a local gang arrest. "Imitatation" finds Nkem changing her appearance after she finds out that her husband has a mistress back in Nigeria. Chika hides out during riots with a Muslim woman in "A Private Experience." In "Jumping Monkey Hill," Ujunwa find that her stories will only be accepted at a writing retreat if they uphold a specific version of being African. And in the title story, Akunna finds life in America completely different than she imagined and wonders if a new romance can lessen the feeling of never belonging.

The Thing Around Your Neck is the perfect way to dip your toes into Adichie's work. I'm looking forward to reading her novels and spending more time with her precise writing, fascinating characters, and insights about belonging and finding a balance between two very different cultures. 

15 comments:

  1. I have been hearing nothing but great things about this writer, and from the premises of her books,they do sound profound and special. I want to read Americanah for sure soon.

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    1. Me too! I can't decide if I should read that one next or go back and start with her first novel. Decisions, decisions!

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  2. I haven't read Adichie yet, but I'm hoping to get to Americanah soon. This sounds wonderful as well!

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    1. There are so many people hoping to read Americanah. Maybe someone should start a group read!

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  3. I'm not a huge reader of short stories...but I liked the one novel of Adichie's that I've read. She is such a good writer. And I find the Nigerian culture/setting so intriguing. I'll have to check these stories out.

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    1. I have to confess that I thought these stories might be repetitive. But each one is so unique and features a very different character than the one before it!

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  4. Awesome, I was hoping you would like this one. I am still making my way through 'Half of a Yellow Sun' but really liking it so far. Her writing is impeccable.

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    1. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it so much!

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  5. I have Americanah on my shelf. I bought it full price from Barnes and Noble which I rarely do. But I haven't read it yet. I'm looking forward to it.

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    1. I rarely do that either, although I do confess to several conflicted hours after Christmas as I wonder around with my gifts cards debating which books should come home with me!

      I can't wait to see what you think of Americanah. :)

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  6. I have Americanah on my shelf. I bought it full price from Barnes and Noble which I rarely do. But I haven't read it yet. I'm looking forward to it.

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  7. Ooh, I can't wait to read these now. I loved 'Americanah' - I was expecting more serious cultural criticism, and while it did have that, it was also funny as heck and, at heart, a romance.

    Andria
    www.militaryspousebookreview.com

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    1. Good to hear! I certainly expected the cultural exploration but I'm glad to hear that it's funny as well!

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  8. I like short story collections that work as a whole. I find so many to be just a bundle of unconnected work but this sounds fantastic.

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    1. Short story collections are sometimes weird to read when you can't really remember anything past the story you just finished. While the stories aren't all interconnected here, they all have similar themes running through them.

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