Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Ghosts” (2004) — Short Story Discussion

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian author regarded as a leading voice in contemporary African and postcolonial literature. Her works explore the complexities of the Nigerian and African experience, including dimensions of religion, culture, race, class, and gender, often interwoven with historical and political contexts. Her breakthrough second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), gained international acclaim for its depiction of the devastation caused by the Nigerian Civil War.

Adichie writes in English and Igbo, mixing both languages in her works, which have been translated into over thirty other languages. Citing Chinua Achebe and Buchi Emecheta as inspirations, her style juxtaposes Western and African influences, particularly the Igbo culture. Adichie has received numerous awards and accolades for her writing, including the Orange Prize for Fiction, the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

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This is a series of occasional meetups to discuss short stories by various authors. We started in the fall of 2023 and currently meet every other Sunday evening.

This time we will discuss "Ghosts" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a story about a retired professor looking back on his life and the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war. It's the fourth story in her 2009 collection The Thing Around Your Neck and originally published in the Zoetrope in 2004.

Please read the story in advance (20 pages) and bring your thoughts, queries, and favourite passages to share with us at the meeting. A pdf copy is available here.

Stories by Adichie we've previously discussed in this group:

• Cell One (2007)
• Imitation (2003)
• A Private Experience (2004)

🔥 BONUS: Adichie's 2009 TED talk “The danger of a single story” is the 14th most viewed TED Talk of all time with more than 50 million views. 🔥