She knew that the people who read her blog were not the same people who attended her diversity workshops. During her talks, she said: “America has made great progress for which we should be very proud.” In her blog she wrote: Racism should never have happened and so you don’t get a cookie for reducing it.

This quote is just one of the great insights into race relations that the protagonist, Ifemelu, posted on her blog, written primarily for the non-American black, which she herself is, having come to the US from Nigeria.

The novel begins with Ifemelu thinking about her blog when on the way to a hair appointment. I mention the hair appointment because hair is a theme that runs throughout the narrative. It’s a metaphor for the life of a black immigrant in America and a surprisingly good one. It highlighted the lengths that are sometimes necessary for people to go to to fit in and be accepted.

At its core this novel is a love story, although not a typical one. The narrative moves back and forward through time describing Ifemelu’s adolescence in Nigeria and her developing relationship with Obinze, a boy she meets locally. Her family, friends and other’s occupy more than just a guest spot. They’re expertly described and add to this rich narrative.

This novel isn’t just a story about Ifemeu but also charts the early life of Obinze, her soon-to-be boyfriend. Granted, there are more chapters from the POV of Ifemelu, but we get a fair amount told by Obinze, which brought authenticity and objectiveness to the novel.

For me this book was as close to perfect as it’s possible to get in a novel. The prose flowed in a way that made it a joy to read and the characters were written with such expertise that regardless of fault I fell in love with them.

I plan to read everything I can get my hands on from this author and highly recommend that you do the same.

It's taken a while, but I'm finally finished. Perfection. I loved it.

I've been totally caught up with everything political that's been happening in the U.K recently and only got back to this today. I'm still loving it and am in awe of the author. I predict I'll be going on a binge of her work after I finish this one.

Not only is this a fantastic character study, but it gives great insight to the immigrant experience. It's swifly moving to 'book of the year,' status. I love it and want to savour it for as long as I can.

This is a book I've wanted to read for a long time. I read the sample a long time ago and really liked it, but for some reason never read anymore. I decided to rectify that when I Ianded on the booklikes-opoly square below. I'm very much enjoying it already.