The library will hold a discussion of Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Monday, February 16. This will be the first in a series of book discussions on “New African Writers.”

The discussion will begin at 7:00 PM and will be free and open to the public. Copies of the book will be available to borrow in advance.

Winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, Americanah tells the story of a young Nigerian woman who emigrates to the United States for a university education. 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.

Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

Selected as one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by the New York Times Book Review, Americanah was also shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. A recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” Fellowship, Adichie is the author of three other novels, including Half of a Yellow Sun, which won the Orange Prize. She divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

The “New African Writers” series will continue on Monday, March 16 with a discussion of We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo, and will conclude on Monday, April 20 with a discussion of Every Day is for the Thief by Teju Cole