The Thing Around Your Neck Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Thing Around Your Neck is a 2009 short story collection by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The twelve stories were initially published in magazines before being collected and published in 2009 by Alfred A. Knopf in the United States, Fourth Estate in the United Kingdom, and in Nigeria by Kachifo Limited and Narrative Landscape Press. Adichie's first short story collection and third book after Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, it explores the themes of immigration, losses and gains, and Nigerian and American experiences.

Adichie was completing her MacArthur fellowship and Hodder fellowship from Princeton University when she started collecting her short stories. The book received positive reviews from critics especially on the narrative and characterisation. The Thing Around Your Neck was nominated for several awards, among them, runner up of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in 2010.

In 2008, while Adichie was completing her MacArthur fellowship and Hodder fellowship from Princeton University, she began collecting her short stories; some of them were already published in several magazines.[1] Twelve of them were turned into a short story collection, The Thing Around Your Neck.[2][3] Adichie, who moved to the United States in 1997, said that Americans' mix of ignorance and arrogance inspired her to write the book. In an interview, she told Guy Raz that she wanted the book to "peel apart the "layers of losses and gains" that immigrants face". In an analysis by NPR, all the stories in the collection originated from tales Adichie heard from friends and family, for example, "A Private Experience" is based loosely on an experience of her aunt.[4]

Adichie was 31-years old when the book was first published in 2009 by Alfred Knopf[2] and was blurbed by Joyce Carol Oates, Edmund White and Chinua Achebe.[5] It was also published in Nigeria in 2009 and 2017 by Kachifo Limited and Narrative Landscape Press, respectively. The Thing Around Your Neck is Adichie's third book after Purple Hibiscus (2003) and Half of a Yellow Sun (2006).[6] Farafina Books, an imprint of Kachifo Limited promoted the book in Nigeria, and Adichie had a public presentation on the book on 11 July 2009 at the Silverbird Lifestyle Store in Victoria Island, Lagos.[7]

In "Cell One", Nnamabia begins stealing as a teenager. One day, he steals his mother's jewelry. With everyone knowing he is the culprit, his mother punishes him. A group of boys attacks a professor and Nnamabia gets arrested as one of those boys and lands in a prison cell. Initially, he enjoys his stay until an old man is thrown into their cell. The old man gets abused by other boys, and while Nnamabia tries to defend him, he gets abused too. He gets released immediately and he returns to his family. In "Imitation", an emigrant Nigerian woman called Nkem resides in Philadelphia, US with her husband Obiora, an art dealer who doesn't spend much time at home; he comes home only two months in a year. They have a house in Nigeria. Nkem finds comfort in her maid and begins thinking her husband is cheating.

In "A Private Experience", Chika and her female Hausa friend hides in a store during a riot caused by religious violence despite belonging to Christianity and Islam, respectively. In "Ghosts", the narrator, a retired University mathematics professor, describes his encounter with someone he deems unalive. In "On Monday of Last Week", Kamara joins her husband in the US to take a job as a nanny to an upper-class family. She becomes obsessed with the mother of the baby she is taking care of.

Set outside of Cape Town, South Africa, "Jumping Monkey Hill" centers on an African Writer's Workshop hosted by the British Council and a white man named Edward. The Nigerian protagonist, Ujunwa, attends alongside writers from throughout Africa: South Africa (Durban and Johannesburg), Tanzania (Dar es Salaam), Uganda (Kampala), Zimbabwe (Harare), Kenya (Nairobi), and Senegal. Ujunwa and the other writers face Edward's scrutiny and struggle to meet his requirements for "authentic" African narratives: Edward rebuffs stories about homosexuality and workplace discrimination in favor of stories of war-torn African villages. In "The Thing Around Your Neck", Akunna gets an American visa from her uncle in order to come to the US where he resides. When she arrives in the country, she is molested by her uncle. She leaves Maine, and eventually gets employed as a waitress in Connecticut. She meets a man with whom she falls in love with, but experiences cultural difficulties with him. In "The American Embassy", a woman applies for an asylum but ends up walking away, unwilling to expose her son's murder for the sake of a visa.

In "The Shivering", a Catholic Nigerian woman studying at Princeton University, whose boyfriend has left her, finds solace in the earnest prayers of a stranger who knocks at her door. In "The Arrangers of Marriage", a newly married woman arrives in New York City with her husband but is unwilling to accept her husband's Nigerian identity rejection. In "Tomorrow Is Too Far", a young woman reveals the devastating secret of her brother's death. In "The Headstrong Historian", Nwangba, who believes her husband was killed by his cousins determines to retain the inheritance for her son. However, Nwangba's son gets his inheritance after his grandmother, Nwangba's mother, retrieves it.

Chukwuma Ajakah of Vanguard noted that Adichie employs a range of narrative strategies to convey her stories, incorporating first-person narrative and omniscient perspectives.[6] British writer Bernardine Evaristo notes that Adichie's writing is marked by subtle restraint, leaving readers to ponder the outcome. She lauds Adichie's unpredictable and suspenseful ending, citing examples like the unsettling descriptions in "A Private Experience". She also noted that Adichie's use of evocative atmospheric details and quirky, unexpected moments in the book adds depth and complexity to her narratives.[8] Constance Lam noted that Adichie's use of the second-person narrative fosters a profound sense of introspection, highlighting the disparity between the protagonist and her boyfriend as she comes to understand that her experiences will forever be alien to him, stemming from their distinctly different backgrounds.[9]

Constance Lam identified the book's central themes as isolation and the effects of immigration especially from Nigeria to America on personal relationships. She observed that in "The American Embassy", Adichie exposes readers to the brutal realm of military violence, where the unnamed protagonist's asylum visa application is rejected due to lack of substantial evidence. Lam noted that Adichie's characters are frequently required to validate their experiences, as their realities are often deemed unconvincing, leading to profound feelings of isolation.[9] Although the stories in Things Around Your Neck differs in plot and characters, Chukwuma Ajakah wrote that the stories are thematically connected, exploring socio-cultural and economic issues affecting Africans in Nigeria and the United States. Recurring themes include juvenile delinquency, youth restiveness, cultural conflict, marriage, poverty, and modern slavery. Ajakah highlighted specific themes in each story: family life, cultism, and police brutality in "Cell One"; love, marriage, and illusion in "Imitation"; violence and colonialism in "A Private Experience"; cultural alienation and gender roles in "On Monday of Last Week"; and love, injustice, and corruption in "The American Embassy".[6]

Jane Shilling wrote that family and exile are common themes in the book, with characters often distanced from home or estranged from familiar culture and surroundings due to violence, fear, or aspirations for a better life. The theme of homesickness is also explored, as seen in the title story "The Things Around Your Neck", where the narrator's experience in the United States is marked by nostalgic attempts to recreate a sense of home, speaking Igbo, eating garri for lunch, and finding comfort in familiar routines.[5]

Critical review

The Thing Around Your Neck received widespread critical acclaim, with a number of critics praising Adichie's characterisation and prose style.[a] While The Christian Science Monitor and Elle praised the stories in the collection,[12][13] Kirkus Reviews praised the ones set in the United States and singled out "Jumping Monkey Hill" and the title story for particular commendation.[14]

Saul Austerlitz of the Boston Globe compared Adichie's work to that of Jhumpa Lahiri,[15] and like several critics, noted the collection's exploration of immigration and opportunity in America and instability in Nigeria,[16] difficulties of life both in Nigeria and in America,[17] and polarities such as Africa and America, black and white, master and servant.[18] unfamiliar Africa depiction by the Western media,[19] challenge and power of rendering Nigerian experiences vividly accessible to American readers,[20] and portrayal of women navigating threats in both Nigeria and America.[21]

In praising the author, Robert L. Pincus of the San Diego Union-Tribune suggested that the collection demonstrates why Adichie has attracted significant attention in her relatively short career.[22] Bernardine Evaristo added that the collection confirmed Adichie's status as a major contemporary voice, describing it as evidence of her position among Africa's brightest literary talents.[8]

While the reception was generally positive, Shilling pointed out some minor criticisms, challenging the occasional structural weaknesses in the collection, suggesting that a few stories end abruptly and that the final narrative, "The Headstrong Historian," might have benefited from greater expansion. Nevertheless, such concerns were generally regarded as minor in comparison to the collection's overall strengths.[5]

Awards and nominations

In 2009, The Thing Around Your Neck was long-listed for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and shortlisted for John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. In 2010, it was shortlisted as the Best Book (Africa) in the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and a runner up of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.[23]

1. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[5][9][10][11]

1. ^ "Cover Story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Half of a Yellow Sun at 15, Her Private Losses, and Public Evolution". Open Country Mag. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
2. ^ a b "The Thing Around Your Neck". Kirkus Reviews. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
3. ^ "The Thing Around Your Neck". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
4. ^ Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi (21 June 2009). "Irritation And Space: A Nigerian Writer In America". NPR. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
5. ^ a b c d Shilling, Jane (2 April 2009). "The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
6. ^ a b c Ajakah, Chukwuma (14 August 2023). "Unraveling Chimamanda's The Thing Around Your Neck". Vanguard. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
7. ^ Adebisi, Yemi (6 July 2009). "Nigeria: Farafina, Silverbird Unveil The Thing Around Your Neck". The Daily Independent. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
8. ^ a b Evaristo, Bernardine (17 April 2009). "The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". The Times. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
9. ^ a b c Lam, Constance (23 May 2020). "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: 'The Thing Around Your Neck'". Palatinate. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
10. ^ "Books roundup: International voices". USA Today. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
11. ^ Li, Yiyun (21 June 2009). "The Thing Around Your Neck". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
12. ^ Kehe, Marjorie (30 July 2009). "The Thing Around Your Neck". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
13. ^ Dickinson, Ben (24 June 2009). "Book Release: The Thing Around Your Neck". Elle. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
14. ^ "The Thing Around Your Neck". Kirkus Reviews. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
15. ^ Austerlitz, Saul (12 July 2009). "Tales of Nigerian outsiders, trapped between two worlds". Boston Globe. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
16. ^ "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Thing Around Your Neck". Paste. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
17. ^ Carmin, Jim (24 July 2009). "Fiction review: 'The Thing Around Your Neck'". The Oregonian. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
18. ^ Lasdun, James (3 April 2009). "James Lasdun on this spring's exciting short story debuts". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
19. ^ Kakutani, Michiko (2 July 2009). "Caught Between the U.S. and Nigeria: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 'Thing Around Your Neck'". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
20. ^ Reynolds, Susan Salter (30 August 2009). "'The Thing Around Your Neck' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
21. ^ Lindgren, Michael (7 July 2009). "Book World: Brief Reviews of 'Dear Husband,' 'Thing Around Your Neck' and More". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
22. ^ Pincus, Robert L. (28 June 2009). "Virtues of short story apparent in 2 collections". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
23. ^ Tunca, Daria (8 November 2021). "Awards & Nominations". cerep.ulg.ce.be. University of Liège. Archived from the original on 19 February 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

• Title story, first published on Prospect