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Notes on Grief

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 'Notes on Grief' is a poignant reflection on the author's personal experience of losing her father during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through raw and honest storytelling, Adichie shares her journey through grief, memories of her father, and the challenges of mourning in a time of restrictions and uncertainties. The book beautifully captures the complexities of grief, the cultural aspects of mourning in Nigeria, and the emotional turmoil of losing a loved one unexpectedly.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is marked by emotional depth and sharp observations, presenting a poignant and relatable exploration of grief.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative focuses on the author's profound grief following her father's death, particularly during a time compounded by pandemic-related restrictions.

Setting:

The setting encompasses both the U.S. and Nigeria, heavily influenced by the pandemic's impact and cultural aspects.

Pacing:

The pacing is quick, reflecting the raw chaos of early grief rather than a slow, reflective exploration.

Notes:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's father, James Nwoye Adichie, died in June 2020 at age 88 due to chronic kidney disease.
Her family could only have virtual visits during the pandemic, relying on weekly Zoom calls.
Chimamanda expressed intense grief and frustration at visitors who came to pay respects after her father's death.
She wrote about her father's accomplishments, including being the first Nigerian to earn a PhD in statistics from UC Berkeley.
The book, 'Notes on Grief', started as an essay for The New Yorker before expanding into a full-length work.
Chimamanda described her father as her greatest supporter and a humble man dedicated to family.
The book reflects the challenges of grieving during the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.
Tragically, during the book's publication, her mother, Grace Ifeoma, also passed away.
The book is short, about 80 pages, and many readers describe it as an emotional and relatable reflection on grief.
Adichie's prose has been praised for its beauty and emotional depth, resonating with readers who have experienced loss.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include explicit discussions of death, grief, and loss, which may be triggering for those currently experiencing similar emotions.

From The Publisher:

From the globally acclaimed, best-selling novelist and author of We Should All Be Feminists, a timely and deeply personal account of the loss of her father: " With raw eloquence, Notes on Grief … captures the bewildering messiness of loss in a society that requires serenity, when you'd rather just scream. Grief is impolite ... Adichie's words put welcome, authentic voice to this most universal of emotions, which is also one of the most universally avoided" ( The Washington Post ).

Notes on Grief is an exquisite work of meditation, remembrance, and hope, written in the wake of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's beloved father's death in the summer of 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged around the world, and kept Adichie and her family members separated from one another, her father succumbed unexpectedly to complications of kidney failure.

Expanding on her original New Yorker piece, Adichie shares how this loss shook her to her core. She writes about being one of the millions of people grieving this year; about the familial and cultural dimensions of grief and also about the loneliness and anger that are unavoidable in it. With signature precision of language, and glittering, devastating detail on the page-and never without touches of rich, honest humor-Adichie weaves together her own experience of her father's death with threads of his life story, from his remarkable survival during the Biafran war, through a long career as a statistics professor, into the days of the pandemic in which he'd stay connected with his children and grandchildren over video chat from the family home in Abba, Nigeria.

In the compact format of We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele, Adichie delivers a gem of a book-a book that fundamentally connects us to one another as it probes one of the most universal human experiences. Notes on Grief is a book for this moment-a work readers will treasure and share now more than ever-and yet will prove durable and timeless, an indispensable addition to Adichie's canon.

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