Book Review: The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
After
the underwhelming experience of reading Mindy Kaling’s book, I picked up The
Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to lift my spirits. As I
have read and enjoyed the other books (Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah)
written by the author, I was positive that I would enjoy reading this
collection of short stories as well.
And, I
did!
Made up
of 12 short stories, it showcases excellent storytelling. The book proves that
Adiche is a great writer and storyteller in all forms, be it full-length
novels, short stories or public speeches.
Even
though I had read the first story ‘Cell
One’ in The New Yorker, it was still a satisfying experience. Few
of the other stories have also been published in other publications.
The
common thread running through all the stories is that it talks about some form
of suffocation, frustration and longing. In ‘The Arrangers of Marriage’, we
read about a newly married woman’s frustration of losing her roots, her
identity and her inability to leave her husband. Imitation narrates the isolation
that a woman faces while living in America without her husband. Tomorrow
Is Too Far brings the stifling emotions of holding on to a
devastating secret on the surface. The American Embassy describes the agony of forced
migrants.
My
favourite stories were The Headstrong Historian, The Arrangers of Marriage, The
Thing Around Your Neck and Imitation.
What’s
great about Adichie's short stories is that they are complete chapters on their
own. By complete I don’t mean a definite start and finish or a happy ending. I
mean the thoughts expressed are not vague. They are not pretentious short
stories with ambiguous endings, left incomplete in the name of edgy, modern and
interesting style of writing.
Speaking
about Adichie, her work has helped me to erase stereotypes about the African
continent. While the characters in her books are primarily Nigerian since she
belongs to that country, no one can deny the fact that she has become the voice of
Africa. Her TED Talk on ‘The danger of a single story’ was so amazing and insightful!
My interest in reading the work of other African authors has piqued after
reading Adichie’s books. I’m sure it’s the same for many readers across the
world.
Highly
recommended!
_____
Title: The
Thing Around Your Neck
Author:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publication:
2009
Language
: English
Pages : 218
Rating
: 4/5
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