The lead character in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s exceptional novel is a young Nigerian woman named Ifemelu. When a teachers’ strike shutters her college, Ifemelu leaves Nigeria for America, where she becomes instantly embroiled in our culture of race. “I only became black when I came to America,” Ifemelu says. From her immigrant stance, Adichie—through Ifemelu—observes and skewers racism and sexism in a story that is both affecting and hilarious. I concluded the novel wanting very much to meet Ifemelu—to buy her a drink as thanks.