A 15 year old me would be rolling right now if she had to read anything other than fiction and school notes. I'm on the relaxed side of life so I choose to read fiction because its entertaining. These days, I try to read more serious stuff like memoirs. I still gear towards memoirs that seem more like fiction and so I was really interested in reading this book by Okey Ndibe when I first saw it.
Never Look An American In The Eye tells of Okey's journey as a Nigerian moving to and living in diaspora. He takes us through his time in Nigeria, the struggle of getting a visa and then adjusting to his new environment in America. The book title happens to be the title of one of the chapters. It's a chapter capturing one of the many funny moments Okey experienced as a newbie in America. He was mistaken for a bank robber by the police and in that moment of questioning he avoided looking into the officer's eyes. He had been warned back home by his uncle (who has never left Nigeria) that Americans didn't like it when you looked them right in the eyes. Infact, you could get shot for that.
He tells tales of being a broke editor and writing for food. This memoir also portrays the misconception Americans had/have about Africa, especially the thought that Africa is just a country where everyone knows one another. It also mirrors the culture shock most Nigerians face when they arrive the Western world and then acclimatization.
This is one book I've read over and over again especially for its humour. Okey's writing to me is a great grandchild of legendary Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka's writing style. You should definitely add this to your reading list.
I give this a 8.5 rating