খেয়ালখুশি

 I recently finished reading Americanah , the bestselling novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie . This is my third time reading her work. The first book I read of C N Adichie was Purple Hibiscus  and was  blown away. Its raw depiction of religious fanaticism—how cruelty quietly seeps into everyday life and overtakes personal consciousness—is incredibly powerful. But this reflection isn’t about that book. Americanah follows Ifemelu and Obinze, childhood friends growing up in Nigeria under dictatorship. Both are ambitious, both yearn to leave and explore a wider world. As Adichie suggests, it’s driven by a lack of choice more than pure desire. Ifemelu eventually moves to the United States and builds a life there. Distance and time pull them apart, their realities shifting in different directions, until they eventually find their way back to each other. What struck me most, though, is the portrayal of male characters in Americanah . Obinze stands out—a kind, gentle soul who see...