Meeting Chimamanda Adichie
MIMI Mambo
Written By: Tola Ositelu
Photo Credits: None
Caption: None
.
It’s hard to write about these kinds of encounters without sounding altogether obsequious. In my case there’s the added danger of.
sounding somewhat insincere considering a recent article I wrote critiquing Ms. Adichie’s Orange Prize winning novel Half of a Yellow
Sun. I have made no bones about the fact that I much preferred her debut Purple Hibiscus to the much-lauded follow up and it failed
to capture my devotion as much as it did for others.. I still stand by my argument that the first novel was a superior book despite Half
of a Yellow Sun’s critical and commercial success. Nevertheless on the strength of Purple Hibiscus I had longed to meet the lady..
behind one of my favourite books of the past decade and so I leaped at the chance to attend a recording of BBC Radio 4’s Book
Club where Chimamanda was being featured as the author of the month.
.
Arriving at the Bush House studio early enough to have some time to kill I was able to observe the other Adichie adherents that had
attended. From my conversations with a few I discovered it was a motley crew of those, like me, who had been aficionados since
Purple Hibiscus and those who were only familiar with Half of a Yellow Sun.. By the time the lady herself arrived at the studio,
boyfriend in tow, one could have been forgiven for taking a while to notice.
.
She came in without pomp or ceremony (why I was expecting that, I am not sure) and was a lot more petite in the flesh than I
expected her to be. We were told by the producers of the show that the setting would be an informal one in order to facilitate a more
natural interaction with the author. We were also told that questions should centre on Half of a Yellow Sun but I suppose in any
situation where the conversation is allowed to flow fairly unrestricted, there were some digressions.. At once assertive, witty and
always polite she was the ideal interviewee. Any initial impression I had of her being diffident were dispelled.
MIMI Mambo
Written By: Tola Ositelu
Photo Credits: None
Caption: None
.
It’s hard to write about these kinds of encounters without sounding altogether obsequious. In my case there’s the added danger of.
sounding somewhat insincere considering a recent article I wrote critiquing Ms. Adichie’s Orange Prize winning novel Half of a Yellow
Sun. I have made no bones about the fact that I much preferred her debut Purple Hibiscus to the much-lauded follow up and it failed
to capture my devotion as much as it did for others.. I still stand by my argument that the first novel was a superior book despite Half
of a Yellow Sun’s critical and commercial success. Nevertheless on the strength of Purple Hibiscus I had longed to meet the lady..
behind one of my favourite books of the past decade and so I leaped at the chance to attend a recording of BBC Radio 4’s Book
Club where Chimamanda was being featured as the author of the month.
.
Arriving at the Bush House studio early enough to have some time to kill I was able to observe the other Adichie adherents that had
attended. From my conversations with a few I discovered it was a motley crew of those, like me, who had been aficionados since
Purple Hibiscus and those who were only familiar with Half of a Yellow Sun.. By the time the lady herself arrived at the studio,
boyfriend in tow, one could have been forgiven for taking a while to notice.
.
She came in without pomp or ceremony (why I was expecting that, I am not sure) and was a lot more petite in the flesh than I
expected her to be. We were told by the producers of the show that the setting would be an informal one in order to facilitate a more
natural interaction with the author. We were also told that questions should centre on Half of a Yellow Sun but I suppose in any
situation where the conversation is allowed to flow fairly unrestricted, there were some digressions.. At once assertive, witty and
always polite she was the ideal interviewee. Any initial impression I had of her being diffident were dispelled.
