Americanah

Ifemelu goes on a boat trip with her friends, and finds herself thinking, “I’m really home. I’m home” (506). She has developed a routine, going to work, the gym, and meeting up with friends. Yet, she is still not content. Working at Zoe “stifled her” (506), and she is bored by the interviews she must conduct with wealthy, boring women. She dislikes attending society events to promote Zoe, and the inevitable speeches, “all of them seemed written by the same verbose, insincere person” (508). One of Ranyinudo’s boyfriends hits on her, as that is expected of a man of his station.

One morning at work, Doris criticizes one of Ifemelu’s features, claiming it sounds too snarky. Ifemelu dismisses her comments, but at the editorial meeting, Aunty Onenu has the same thoughts. She feels Ifemelu has made fun of and judged her interview subject, but Ifemelu insists that profiles are meant to be judgmental. On her break, she calls Ranyinudo, who complains about her various boyfriends. Later, Esther reveals that she is taking medicine for typhoid but after Ifemelu sees the unlabeled container, she becomes concerned that the medicine may not be real. She suggests writing to the health minister, but Doris reminds her they aren’t investigative journalists. Ifemelu suggests doing a piece for Zoe about Esther’s church, but Doris shoots that down. She reveals that the women featured in Zoe pay Aunty Onenu for the privilege, which causes Ifemelu to question Doris’ integrity. Doris explodes, calling Ifemelu “a judgmental bitch” (516). Ifemelu responds by calling Doris ugly, and leaves. 

Dike comes to visit Ifemelu in Lagos. He is mesmerized by the city, saying, “‘Oh my God, Coz, I’ve never seen so many black people in the same place!’” (518). Ifemelu has resigned from her job at the magazine and started a new blog, called The Small Redemptions of Lagos, in which she talks about life as a returnee. She features her talented friends, rather than boring society ladies, and writes posts aimed at fellow returnees. One especially popular post is about the Nigerpolitan Club, in which Ifemelu reminds fellow returnees that Lagos cannot be New York or London. “If your cook cannot make a panini” (520), she writes, “it is not because he is stupid. It is because Nigeria is not a nation of sandwich-eating people” (520). But after she writes a post about women who date multiple men, Ranyinudo becomes upset, saying the post was clearly about her. “‘You need to stop this nonsense. Stop feeling so superior’” (522), Ranyinudo tells her, and then urges her to look up Obinze.

Dike offers to help moderate the comments on her blog, surprised by how personal some of the commenters get. He tells Ifemelu that he wishes he spoke Igbo, and asks her about his father, whom he now knows was a general. He also knows his mother was his father’s mistress, not his wife. Ifemelu shows him his father’s old house, the house he was born in, and then lets him drive back. “She knew it meant something to him that she could not name” (524). After Dike leaves, Ranyinudo expresses surprise that Dike would attempt suicide, calling it “foreign behavior” (524), an attitude which doesn't surprise Ifemelu but does leave her angry.