Did you know that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Thought ‘Americanah’ Would Be A Terrible Book

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the most celebrated authors out of Africa, and for good reason: all her books have been beyond fantastic. While her essays and short stories alone would make her worthy of all the praise, her impeccable novels are really what make her truly exceptional.

So, while her most recent novel, Americanah is an acclaimed hit that’s about to be made into a miniseries by Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Danai Gurira (Black Panther), Adichie actually thought the book would be terrible.

In an interview with PORT Magazine, for which she made history as the first-ever woman to grace their cover, Adichie shared her experience writing the award-winning Half of a Yellow Sun and her state of mind while she was writing Americanah.

Speaking about completing Half of a Yellow Sun in her little studio apartment, Adichie said:

“It was so emotionally draining. I cried… Days would pass and I wouldn’t shower. I wouldn’t pick up my phone.”

According to her, Half of a Yellow Sun was the book she felt her “ancestors wanted [her] to write”. So, after she had completed it, she felt free to loosen up as a writer; a decision she thought her third book, Americanah, would suffer for.

About her state of mind while writing Americanah, Adichie continued:

“I was no longer feeling this sense of being the dutiful daughter of literature and that I wanted to follow the rules. You know what? I felt I had earned the right to write a terrible book.”

Well, she didn’t end up writing that terrible book she expected — instead, she created her most successful work yet, which she describes as her “fuck you” book. You can read a little excerpt from the interview, which is set to drop on April 19, right here.