Duke University has chosen a novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as the summer reading assignment for all incoming students. Adichie is the author of Americanah (Alfred A. Knopf), which won the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award.
The story involves a Nigerian couple who are separated, one going to the United States for college and one living in London. Eventually, they both return to Nigeria.
Like the character in her novel, Adichie left Nigeria at the age of 19 to study at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She transferred to Eastern Connecticut State University and graduated summa cum laude in 2001. She later earned a master’s degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a master’s degree in Africana studies from Yale University. She has taught at Princeton University and Harvard University.
Small group discussions about the book will be part of new student orientation in August. Duke University is planning on having Adichie speak on campus early in the fall semester to continue the discussion of her work.
