Americanah

A modern classic about star-crossed lovers that explores questions of race and being Black in America—and the search for what it means to call a place home.

One of the New York Times's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years.

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be Black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post–9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.

At once powerful and tender, Americanah is a remarkable novel.